Shades of Cool
by TeeBeMe
Summary: "Yup," Xin popped her lips. "Because we all know love has absolutely nothing to do with marriage." GaaOC. AU.
1. Room for one more troubled soul?

_I've always written like high school fics and whatnot so I wanted to try to write a story set in the ninja world. Set in an AU though. I was a little sad after If I Knew was taken down and wanted to stop writing Naruto fics but I decided to suck it up and try another crack at it. Despite some of the dislike Xin receives for being my main OC, she's going to remain my main. Sorry, she's just been with me too long for me to scrap her. I'll try to tweak her personality though. Hopefully this is a little better than If I Knew. Hope you guys enjoy. Review. I don't own a thing except Xin._

* * *

"_Why the hell did I let them talk me into this? This is complete and utter bullshit. What's the matter with my parents? How could they even entertain the idea of marrying–oh holy shit, they're going to agree to this bullshit, aren't they?" _

Xin quietly sat, shooting evil looks at the several individuals occupying the room. She fidgeted erratically, her fingers twitching. She was ready to burst as two of Konoha's council members discussed the agreements with two of Suna's council members.

She frowned, her eyes casting a blank look as she counted each wrinkle adorning all four council member's face. _"Lord have mercy, who has that many wrinkles? The years has not been kind to these four fucked up fossils..." _

"Are you listening?"

"How pissed would you be if I said no, I'm not listening?"

"Xin..."

Her smile turned sheepish as each adult shot a disapproving glare. She dropped the smile moments later and stiffly sat up. "It's not like I have much of a say, right? For one reason or another our lovely representing council members–" She paused to shoot a sarcastically sweet smile at the two. "Believe that I would be a perfect match for your cra—er...crazily talented Kazekage..."

Tsunade shot her a look that clearly said _'nice save.' _

_'Nice save my ass...' _

* * *

_Xin's P.O.V_

I had a week to prepare before I was being deported to Suna for my impending marriage. Just a week to get ready. How the hell was I supposed to prepare for something like that? Like moving your entire life from one village to another to marry a psychotic stranger was completely normal. Okay, he wasn't psychotic. He's reformed. Or so I'm told. I mean, of course the council members wouldn't just flat out tell me that their Kazekage is still a raging homicidal manic. Not that I had room to talk. I still couldn't get the bloodstains out of some of my ANBU uniforms.

Did Suna have ANBU squads? I sure as hell hoped so because if they demoted me back to being a regular Jonin, I was going to flip my shit. I worked hard to get where I was and I would be damned if I was demoted because of some stupid marriage.

For the most part I spent the week hanging around the people I grew up with, whether it was sparring or hanging out at Ichiraku's. For old time's sake, they kept saying. What the hell did that mean anyway? It wasn't like I was dying or anything. I didn't speak to my family members except for my sisters and cousin. Why the hell would I speak to any of them? They had betrayed me, readily agreeing to forking me over to a once enemy village. I had nothing to say to my parents, my grandparents or the Elders of the Hyuga clan.

My send off wasn't anything spectacular but all of my friends were there to see me off. Tsunade also came along to wish me luck. I tried not to be too bitter during the whole thing, tried to smile and not throw a tantrum as I was passed around to exchange hugs and advice.

It just wasn't fair. How could they all just smile and hug me? There was nothing to be smile about. This was not an occasion for hugs. But what did I expect? It wasn't like any of them were being forced to sacrifice their freedom and happiness. They all got to live their happy little blissful lives while I was being sent away to a God forsaken desert in the middle of nowhere to marry a former psycho.

Jeez, I should really stop giving him grief about his past. It wasn't like my past was any better than his. Okay, I didn't randomly smother people in blood smelling sand just for looking at me wrong like he did but I did kill without mercy. Hell, I even enjoyed it. I knew that I was the psycho of Konoha. It was probably why I was the top contender to marry the Kazekage. Out of all the girls in my age group, I had never seen any of them take life like I had. They usually killed their victims off quickly and only if they were forced to.

I offered one last smile to my friends, wondering when I would see them again, and left the place I had known all of my life to start an entirely new life.

* * *

Suna was...different.

Despite our shaky alliance for the last five years or so, I never had a mission where I had to travel to or through Suna. It was completely different from Konoha. Konoha was all sorts of greens, surrounded by large and luscious trees with stone roadways and modernized houses. Suna was sand. Like, it was literally sand. I wasn't kidding when I said the damn village was in the damn desert. There obviously wasn't trees because what trees do you know that could survive in the desert? Cactus? The damn buildings were even made of sand.

I approached the ninja stationed in front of the large gates that blocked me off from the village that I was going to call my home. Sweat soaked my skin, drenching my hair and causing my clothes to stick to my skin in the most uncomfortable way possible. I was extremely cranky due to the excessive heat and sand blowing into my face from the strong winds. I had to travel three days and two nights to get here and I was not a happy camper. Honestly, the only thing I wanted at this point was a bath and a bed.

"I have business with the Kazekage," I stated simply, coming to a stop in front of the guard. He eyed me warily, trying to figure out what the hell a regular Konoha kunoichi would want with the leader of his village. I bit down the urge to sneer at him. His stance was rather weak, his grip on his weapon rather loose. I could have easily slapped the weapon from his hand and then break his arm before he could sound an alarm. I paused in the middle of my thoughts and frowned. I really needed to control my anger and low tolerance.

The gates suddenly creaked open before I could say anymore and a tall blonde woman stepped out from behind the protection of the gates. She was much taller than me, but then again, it wasn't that hard to be taller than me with my meager height. Anyway, she was tall, tan and blonde. "You're Xin, aren't you?" She asked in a particularly deep voice. I fought down the urge to reply with a sarcastic answer. Who the hell else would I be? I was more crankier than I had initially thought. Instead of snapping at her, I forced a cringe-worthy smile.

She offered a smile that could have matched mine. "Welcome to Suna. I'm Temari."

* * *

Temari frowned softly as the small woman ambled next to her. She hadn't really been sure of what she was expecting of Xin but it certainly wasn't...this. She was just so small. She looked so out of place and just so..._small. _But a strange aura hung over her. It washed over Temari and nearly choked her. The aura reminded her of blood. It mixed into the girl's natural scent, bathing her in a sickeningly sweet smell that twisted and pulled at Temari's stomach.

"Are we meeting with the Kazekage?" Xin finally broke the awkward silence between the two of them. She hadn't really cared that the two hadn't said one word since Temari had greeted her and allowed her entrance into the village. She had spent the time looking around and trying to familiarize herself with her new home. But the silence did eventually get to her.

"Not at the moment. He's currently in a meeting with some of our council members, tying up some loose ends with the new...arrangements," Temari replied, trying to avoid outright saying what was actually being discussed. "I'm taking you home where I'll...debrief you on some things."

Home? Debrief? What was there to debrief her about? She was marrying the Kazekage so that there would never be any turmoil between Konoha and Suna. Well, hopefully there would never be any bad blood now that she was marrying him. And if there was...she knew what would have to be done. Her forehead ached at the thought. She said no more, opting to quietly follow after the tall blonde. She didn't really have a lot of questions, which surprised her. Usually Xin could ask about ten questions in the span of two minutes. But she only had maybe one or two questions.

A large house suddenly came into her vision, made of sand, of course. It was so different compared to her home in Konoha. For one, she lived in the middle of the Hyuga compound. That was practically a mini-village and of course she lived in the biggest house in the compound.

Temari opened the front door, leading her in as if she owned the place. Xin quirked an eyebrow but said nothing as she slipped off her black sandals and neatly set them to the side, looking around. She couldn't make much of the house seeing as how she was only at the front door. Temari veered left, leading Xin into the living room. The little woman all but crumpled into the tan couch _(of course it's tan. Tan like the damn sand),_ the exhaustion showing plainly on her face. Temari settled in the armchair to the left of the couch, silently watching Xin.

"First, let me just say I realize that this a big sacrifice you made in the name of peace. On my behalf of my village I want to thank you. I know you didn't want to agree to marry him," Temari began to say, watching as Xin sat up a little.

The pale woman shrugged blandly. "Gotta do what ya gotta do," Xin offered simply, staring at her blankly. The blank stare slightly unnerved Temari. Her eyes held no trace of emotion or even humanity. They were just blanked out.

"Right," Temari nodded slowly, slightly uncomfortable. "Well, as I said, my name is Temari. I'm the older sister of the Kazekage and I have another younger brother as well," Temari properly introduced herself.

Xin simply nodded. "I'm Hyuga Xin."

That was it? That was all she was going to say? Xin must have noticed the look in Temari's face because she quirked an eyebrow. What, did she expect a formal introduction? Well, what was there to say other than her name? She didn't need to know she had two sisters or anything useless like that. They'd probably never meet anyway.

"Well," Temari sat up a little straighter. "There are some things I'm sure you weren't informed of when it came to the agreement about the marriage," the blonde bit her bottom lip, searching Xin's face for any sign of anger for withheld information.

"What else is there? We're marrying to keep the peace between Konoha and Suna, right?"

"Yes..." Temari trailed off. "And no."

"And no? What the hell do you mean 'and no'?"

Temari rubbed her hands together, trying to figure out how exactly she was going to tell Xin the withheld information. "My brother has been the leader of the village for some time but the council felt as if the people didn't trust him completely due to the circumstances involving his past."

"You mean brutally murdering people, right?"

Temari actually glared at Xin for her blunt words. Xin simply scoffed but said nothing more. "The council claimed they didn't feel as if the people felt that Gaara was humane and reformed..." She trailed off, dark green eyes clashing with light lavender eyes. "So they had this idea of him marrying a woman so that the people would fully trust him. They figured him marrying a girl from Suna wouldn't seem...authentic enough. So that's when they brought up the idea of him marrying a girl from a different village..."

Xin's face scrunched together in thought. Temari remained silent, letting the words seep in. "So," She suddenly said. "Your people are unaware of the peace treaty."

"That's right."

"And they want an authentic marriage."

"Correct."

The room was silent once more as Xin mulled over the words. She rolled her lips together and played with the end of her ponytail that sat over her shoulder. Temari shifted, waiting for her to speak again. Seconds ticked by before her eyes met with Temari's eyes. "You're telling me this whole fuckin' marriage is a publicity stunt!?"

* * *

Temari was almost positive that Xin was seconds away from killing something. She wasn't entirely sure because she didn't know the girl too much. But she knew a look like the one Xin was wearing well enough to know that she wanted to kill something. Trailing behind her, Temari could clearly hear the little kunoichi mumbling to herself. Maybe Konoha should have reconsidered the choice they made when they picked Xin. She hadn't even spent an entire day with her and Temari knew that there might have been a couple of screws loose in Xin's head.

"This is the Kage's tower," Temari suddenly broke through Xin's conversation with herself. "It's in the middle of the village. If you ever get lost, just come here," Temari directed her, leading her into the building. Xin would have to remember that. It was smack-dab in the middle of the village and plus it had a big-ass symbol on the front of the building. No way in Hell would she miss that if she was lost.

Neither female said anything to one another as they climbed the winding staircase that seemed to lead on forever. They approached the only doors on the top floor, Temari knocking twice before she walked into the room before she had permission. If Xin hadn't known she was related to the Kage, she would have thought Temari was rude.

The office was much more neater than Tsunade's office. There weren't a billion of papers everywhere paired with half-empty sake bottles spread about. There also wasn't a responsible assistant present wielding a small and chubby pig. Xin's heart sank at the thought.

Instead, there was two men present. One was laying about on the couch to the side of the room rather sloppily. All Xin could make out was his dark eyes and dark purple face paint. He was dressed in a black one piece with some random symbol on the chest that Xin didn't care enough to even think about. The oddest thing was the cat like ears that was apart of his black hood.

Sitting behind the neat desk with the neat stack of papers and cactus plant_ (of course it was a damn cactus plant)_ was who she assumed was her future husband. He had a shock of vibrant red hair. Red hair that reminded her so much of blood. His eyes were pale cyan with thick black eye rings and there was a dark red tattoo of the word love on the left side of his forehead.

Well. Xin raised her eyebrows. At least he was attractive.

"Um," She blinked stupidly. "Hi," She greeted, not knowing what else to say. The one sprawled across the couch sat up, a look of amusement dancing in his dark eyes. Xin looked towards him and dubbed him as the friendlier one of the two currently staring at her. "I'm Xin," She offered simply, eyes flickering back and forth between the two.

"Kankuro," the friendly one pushed himself up and flounced over to Xin. He held his large hand out for her to shake. She looked down at it, looked back at him, looked back down at his outstretched hand and finally took it. "It's nice to finally meet you, Xin. The three of us have been looking forward to this ever since we were told you actually agreed."

"Nice to meet you too. Now, do you mean since I actually agreed to being married for peace or for publicity?"

The room was filled with an awkward silence as Kankuro peeked over Xin's head to look at Temari. Before he could say anything, their younger brother finally spoke up. "You told her about that?" he asked, finally looking up from whatever document had had his attention. Xin blinked in question and then frowned. Were they not going to tell her the truth?

"I couldn't just let her think that's the only reason she's getting married."

"You didn't plan to tell me at all?"

"How did she take it?"

"Um, excuse me, I'm right here. I can answer."

"Wow, Xin. You've got a helluva grip. Think you can let go now?"

"You can ask her yourself, Gaara. She's right here."

"Obviously, I just said that."

"Your grip is getting tighter."

"By the tone of your voice, you weren't pleased."

"Is it that obvious?"

"Holy shit, I think I just heard my hand crack."

Xin blinked in surprise and realized she had yet to let go of Kankuro's hand. She blushed slightly and quickly withdrew her hand, smiling sheepishly as Kankuro rubbed his crumpled hand. "I'm sorry. Sometimes I don't know my own strength," She sheepishly stated. She suddenly turned to look at Gaara and stormed right up to his desk, leaning over it and planting her hands on the desktop. "I agreed to marry you for peace. Not to make you look better. That was not part of the deal. I have every right to back out of this marriage right now."

Gaara slowly looked up at her, eyes lazily roving over her. "The minute you back out is the minute you start a war," He stated simply, watching as her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Is that something you can live with?"

"Are you threatening _and_ taunting me?" Xin hissed down at him, leaning slightly closer. "Listen to me, I have no problem reaching over this desk and ripping your fuckin' eyeballs out," She snapped lowly, her fingers twitching. When was the last time she had physically hurt someone? When was her last mission? When was the last time the thick smell of blood wafted around her, intoxicating her?

Gaara leaned forward, as if he was silently daring Xin to follow through with her threat.

"That's enough," Temari suddenly intervened, pulling Xin back away from her youngest brother. "You have every right to be angry with us, Xin. But threatening Gaara isn't going to solve anything. Everything has been agreed to. Are you really going to risk breaking the treaty just because we didn't tell you one piece of information?"

Xin huffed angrily and snatched herself away from Temari, folding her arms across her chest. "Listen, you don't have to like each other, you barely have to speak to one another. But you're going to have to at least coöperate, alright?" Temari watched in bemusement as Xin stuck her tongue out at Gaara while he simply rolled his eyes at her childish behavior.

What the hell had they done?

* * *

"Understand that this will not be a marriage of love."

Xin stared blankly across the desktop at the Kazekage. Or, her fiancé. Temari and Kankuro had left them seconds ago. Temari basically ordered them to at least get some ground with each other and talk. Get to know one another. Xin rolled her eyes. God, she hated everything. "Yup," Xin popped her lips. "Because we all know love has absolutely nothing to do with marriage," She sarcastically stated, arms folded across her chest. In turn, Gaara shot her a deathly look. She was starting to wonder if it was wise of Temari and Kankuro to leave them alone unsupervised.

They both stared at one another. Her stare was defiant while his stare held nothing but annoyance. "This marriage is a form of business and I will not love you." He continued to speak despite the clear annoyance he had for her. She only snorted and shook her head at his words.

"You sure know how to woo a girl, don't ya?"

He slowly exhaled, fed up with her attitude. Temari's words rang in his head before she had left him with this monster. _'Try to be understanding. She's out of her comfort zone. She's angry that we basically lied to her. She's not happy about any of this.' _He had to remember. He had to remember not to snap her bones in half.

"Have you ever thought of using a different color scheme other than sand?"

"...What?"

She was leaning her cheek against her fist, her elbow resting on the arm of the couch she was now slouched over. Her eyes were roving the length of his office, at the walls, the floor, and the carpet before finally landing on him. "The color scheme," She waved her other hand about, motioning to the room as a whole. "Everything is sandy colors. Sandy brown, sandy blonde. Tan. It's sand. Isn't that a bit–I dunno, boring? Looks like someone's Grandfather decorated this place. Either that or you really like the look."

Gaara stared at her for several seconds, at a loss. "That's what you're concerned about? The color scheme of my office?" He asked blandly. Was the woman stupid? Was he about to marry an idiot? Was it really too late to back out of this marriage? God, he was going to end up with an idiot for the rest of his life.

"Well fine," Xin huffed, her attitude coming back. "I was just trying to make conversation, ya prick. You don't have to be such a jerk about it all. The way I see it, I should be the only one in this room with a damn attitude."

"You _are_ the only one in this room with an attitude."

"Are you telling me now that you don't have an attitude?" She rolled her eyes. "You're just a jerk on the regular basis? Because let me tell you, it's not attractive. I mean, if I wanted to marry a prick with a stick shoved so far up his ass, I would've just went with Uchiha Sasuke. Least I could've stayed in my village."

Gaara would have slammed his head against the desk.

Xin could only roll her eyes.

What had they done?

* * *

"So, when exactly will the marriage be announced?" Xin asked the same night as she sat in the living room along with Kankuro and Temari. The two elder sand siblings had returned to the Kage's office to see Xin pinned to the ceiling by Gaara's sand, shouting vulgar obscenities at him while he simply ignored her. It was amazing how she could switch her personality from a raging banshee to a relaxed woman. It also unsettled the two. Her ability to easily switch her emotions was just a tad bit disturbing.

"Next week," Temari sat up in her seat. "After we announce it, we will begin to plan the wedding."

"We're actually going to have a wedding?"

"It has to seem authentic, so yes."

Xin shot the blonde a sour look but said nothing more. "You guys know you'll have to act like you actually like each other, right?" Kankuro pointed out, a grin threatening to take over his lips. Xin twisted up her own lips in disgust. "You know, like an actual couple. We have to have the public believe that you two want to get married. That you're in love."

"Tell that to your brother," Xin mumbled absently. She stood up with an exasperated sigh. "I'm exhausted. I'm going to take a shower and then take it down for the night. I'll...see you guys," She awkwardly stated before hurrying up the stairs.

The hot water drilled down on her body, relaxing her tense muscles. She leaned her forehead against the tiled wall and let out a long sigh. She had been tricked, basically. This was not really a marriage for alliance. She knew that was bullshit when she heard it. Out of the five great shinobi nations, Suna and Konoha got along well. The villages weren't the best of friends but their relationship were better than their relations with Kiri, Kumo, and Iwa. The Sand and the Leaf were least likely to have bad blood compared to the other three.

This was a marriage that would make Gaara look better. He would just seem so humane and good if the public knew he was actually married and in love. She had been reduced to a trophy wife. She was there to make him look good. Xin's fists tightened and she resisted the urge to punch the wall. Instead she reached down and turned the shower off. She wrapped herself in a towel, and with complete disregard to anyone seeing her, stepped out of the bathroom and proceeded to her room.

She picked through her bags, trying to find something to sleep in. She pulled out a soft yellow sleeping kimono, noting the Hyuga insignia stitched on the left side. The young woman scowled harshly and threw the kimono down, shaking her head. Xin grumbled to herself and dressed in a pair of shorts and a tank top. Her eyes scanned the room, frowning softly. Was this an extra room or did it belong to Gaara? It seemed so lifeless, like no one spent time in it. But they wouldn't keep an extra room furnished when it was just the three of them living there? Why did they have such a large home?

"It's too bland in here," Xin grumbled in annoyance. "Well, if I'm going live in here I'm sure they won't mind if I redecorate. I can probably convince Temari to go shopping tomorrow or something. It's not like I'll be given any missions anytime soon," Xin continued to talk herself. She yanked the covers back and slid in, cringing at the icy feeling of the sheets. "When's the last time anyone even sat on this bed?"

* * *

Xin padded down the stairs the next morning, nearly running into the wall at the bottom of the stairs. She found her way to the kitchen, nearly getting lost twice. Again, why the hell did these people live in such a big ass house if there was only three of them? "Good afternoon," Kankuro greeted her first when she stepped into the kitchen. Temari peeked over her shoulder from whatever she was doing to also greet the younger woman. Xin leaned against the door frame, rubbing her face.

"Coffee?"

Temari blinked at her, slightly confused. "I...can make you some fresh coffee," She said slowly, setting off to her new task. "Do you always wake up this late in the day?" She asked as Xin pushed off of the frame and sat at the kitchen table.

She yawned and rubbed at her face for the second time. "No, back home I had to wake up at four in the morning for early morning training with my sisters and cousin," She spoke through her yawn. "Then I'd leave for whatever mission Lady Tsunade had for me."

"You have sisters?" Kankuro asked from across the table. They knew next to nothing about the drowsy girl sitting at their table. She hadn't offered to say anything about herself yesterday besides her name.

"Mm, two. I have a younger sister, she's twelve now. And my twin sister, older than me by an hour," Xin continued to talk through her sleep. She twitched as the smell of coffee began to waft around the kitchen.

"An older sister?" Temari mumbled to herself in question. Why hadn't they offered the older sister instead of Xin? It was obvious why the youngest wasn't offered, she was just twelve. Why hadn't they been informed that there was more than one sister in the first place?

"How do you like your coffee? Cream? Sugar?"

"Black."

They both gave her strange looks. Black coffee tasted horrible and Xin didn't even seem to be the type to like black coffee. She seemed bubbly when she wasn't snapping with a bad attitude. "Do you have anything planned for today, Temari? Any missions or anything like that?" Xin asked once she downed half of her cup of coffee. She looked at them, tilting her head to the side once she caught sight of the strange looks they were giving her. "What?"

"Ah, it's nothing. I don't have anything today. Is there something you need?"

She gulped down more of her coffee and sighed, seeming more alert. "I don't know if that room I'm occupying is just a spare room or if it was actually someone's room, but I can't stand it. It's boring and lifeless. I was thinking we could go shopping."

Temari and Kankuro shared surprised glances. Judging by her outburst yesterday, they were sure she was going to lock herself in her room and refuse to talk to anyone for the next couple of days. Not willingly invite one of them to spend some time with her. "Um, sure. That's fine."

Xin only let a smile stretch across her face, opting to ignore the strange looks.


	2. This animal I have become

_lol, Panda-Chan8, you are seriously one of the best reviewers I have. Gin, Xaara? Psycho lovers? I laughed for about ten minutes when I read that. They really do need a couple name. I'm liking Xaara so far, it just sounds so funny.  .Princess, you're also another loyal reviewer. I know it was sad to see If I Knew go, maybe I'll try to rewrite it, I thought it was hilarious but I'm glad you're liking this one too. And shadow wolf, thank you, I hope you're still reading and you think chapter 2 is good like chapter 1. Enjoy guys. _

_No ownership. Except the OC. _

* * *

_Xin's P.O.V_

"Are you sure painting the room is necessary?"

I glanced away from the several paint cans I was standing in front of to look at Temari. She was standing next to me, frowning softly. My shoulders slumped and I sighed heavily. Did she not see the inside of that room? My grandmother wouldn't even like the damn color scheme. It was just so...plain.

"It's not like it's anyone's bedroom, right? It's an unused room so what harm would it do if I painted it a different color? I'm the only one whose going to sleep in there, right?" I quirked an eyebrow, trying to figure out if I wanted to paint the room plum purple or royal purple. Oh, but there was also lavender and amethyst. Those were always pretty...

"It's Gaara's room as well."

I whirled around to face her, blinking in question. "That's his room? It's so...lifeless," I trailed off, slightly pouting. Seeing as how it was his room to begin with, I couldn't lose my mind and just decorate it to my taste. It wasn't very masculine to have a purple room...even if your wife insisted on it.

Temari sighed heavily, rubbing the back of her neck. "He spends most of his time at the office doing work," She explained shortly, looking everywhere else except for my face. Okay, I could understand that he spent a lot of time there. But that still didn't mean his room should feel so lifeless. Those sheets felt as if no one had ever laid down on them. Did the kid sleep or what? I had fallen asleep alone and woken up alone. Not that I would've allowed him to share the bed with me, I would've lost my shit if I woke up next to him.

It wasn't like I was afraid of a guy sharing a bed with me or anything like that. I'm a kunoichi, I've slept next to a dead body before. Sleeping next to the opposite gender sure as hell wouldn't bother me. It's just the thought of waking up next to Gaara bugged the ever living shit out of me. It probably bothered me because he was a scheming jerk and I hated his fuckin' face.

"I can paint it a different color. Black. Or blue maybe," I mumbled to myself, wandering away from the purple shades. I was a little disappointed that I couldn't paint the room my favorite color but brushed the feeling off.

Temari only followed silently as I quietly fumed.

* * *

"What's all of that noise?"

Kankuro paused in the middle of working on one of his puppets. Gaara appeared in the middle of the doorway leading into the living room, frowning as more banging ensued from above their heads. Kankuro stood up, dusting his pants off of nothing. "Your fiancé," Kankuro answered simply. "She came back a couple of hours ago with Temari from out shopping. She's been up in the room redecorating," He explained, wondering if his sister had already started to cook dinner.

There was a slight twitch in Gaara's eyes before he turned around and began to trek upstairs, a hard scowl crossing his features. Kankuro sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, already having a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Oi, Temari. I think Xin and Gaara are going to start arguing again..."

The bedroom that he had called his own _(but rarely spent time in)_ since he was a child was completely different. The plain eggshell white walls were no more, instead they were painted a dark blue. The bed that was barely big enough to fit two people was gone and in its place was a white framed queen sized bed with different pillows, blankets and sheets that matched the color of the walls.

In front of the large window that stretched from the ceiling to the floor was a matching couch that could seat three people along with a small armchair and a cushioned table. On either sides of the bed were two white night stands with blue matching lamps. On the opposite side of the room was a desk and a chair set and in the corner was a large bookshelf with only a few books placed in it. Nestled in the other corner of the room was a large wardrobe that still didn't have any clothes in it yet.

And there was his fiancé, hammering a nail into one of the walls to hang a floor-length mirror. She didn't take notice of him until he stepped into the room and into the reflection of the mirror. She blinked, clearly surprised to see him and turned around, hand on her hip. "Hi there," She greeted simply, dangling the hammer in a loose way. Xin watched quietly as his eyes scanned the bedroom that he probably hadn't stepped foot in since who knows when.

"Why is my room blue?"

"It's not. It's _federal blue_."

Gaara stared at her, cyan eyes slightly narrowed dangerously. In response, Xin only quirked an eyebrow. Clearly she didn't see the harm in what she was doing. "Oi, don't give me that look. I was going to paint it purple but I thought that might be a little too feminine. I thought about black or red but then I figured that those were too dark and cliché, so why not federal blue? Blue isn't too feminine or masculine. And it's dark," Xin rambled, not really paying much attention to the annoyed redhead.

"Put it back."

Xin paused in the middle of her rambling. She titled her head, eyebrow quirked even higher than before. "Excuse me?" She scoffed, her grip on the hammer becoming a little tighter. "This looks so much better than it did," She pointed out, motioning around to the new bedroom set.

"I don't care what it looks like. It's my bedroom and I said put it back the way you found it," Gaara ordered firmly. He noticed that with each passing second her grip became tighter around the hammer. He wondered vaguely if she would try to use it as a weapon if provoked enough.

"Well, the funny thing about getting married to another person is that nothing is solely yours anymore. Ever heard of 'what's yours is mine'? You know what that means, my personal pain the ass?" She asked, speaking slowly as if he couldn't fully comprehend her words. "That means this bedroom isn't just yours. It's mine as well. And since I'll be spending more time in here, I think it should stay like this," Xin coolly rebuffed his order.

"I don't care what you think. I told you to put it back."

"And I'm telling you to fuck off. This room is staying like this."

Before Gaara could threaten the small woman, his siblings interrupted. "You guys haven't been left alone for more than fifteen minutes and you're already bickering with one another," Kankuro spoke up first as he and Temari trekked towards the bedroom.

"What's the problem now?" Temari sighed, stepping into the room only to look around in slight wonder. "Wow, it looks so...different now," She stated, eyes scanning every inch of the bedroom that Xin proudly smiled about.

"My wonderful fiancé is throwing a hissy fit because I tweaked the room a little bit."

"A little bit? You call this a little bit? What's the matter with you?"

Xin rolled her eyes at his dramatic outburst. Just as she was about to accuse Gaara of being a spoiled and childish brat, Temari spoke up. "Let's forget about this for now. Dinner is ready," She motioned towards the door, herding the younger occupants out before Xin or Gaara could start another argument. Down in the large kitchen _(Xin still couldn't understand why they needed such a big house)_ the four sat around the dinner table awkwardly. It was the first time the four of them were spending the evening together. It would have been enjoyable as Xin and Gaara weren't constantly throwing dirty looks at each other.

Xin shook her head and shoved some of the meat into her mouth, stiffening quickly. She resisted the urge to spit the food out in her hand and demand to know what the hell she just put in her mouth. She glanced around the table to look at Gaara and Kankuro. They didn't seem to be bothered by the horrible tasting meat. They quietly ate, chewing it fully and swallowing it as if it was edible. She looked down at her plate in wonder. How the hell were they stomaching this food? Maybe their taste buds were dead. They were probably immune to the taste.

Not wanting to offend Temari _(she actually kind of liked Temari, sorta)_, Xin shoveled the food into her mouth. She really hoped the discomfort from eating the horrible food wasn't clear in her face. Someone had to tell Temari that she couldn't cook. It was just cruel to let the blonde think she could when her food tasted like who did it and why.

Somehow Xin managed to eat all the food without vomiting. She was pretty sure she was seconds away from it though. She rolled her lips together and offered a false smile, helping Temari gather the plates. "Don't worry, I've got it," Temari said before Xin could even try to offer help in cleaning the dishes. She smiled softly and quickly ducked out of the kitchen, joining Kankuro in the living room. He was leaning over what looked like a large humanoid puppet.

Xin frowned softly as its lifeless eyes rolled around, landing on her. She shivered and sat down, trying to look everywhere but at the puppet. The thing was really creeping her out. Why the hell did he have to work on that in the middle of the living room?

"You did pretty good," Kankuro suddenly stated, messing with the arm of the puppet. Xin quirked her eyebrow and sat up in question. Kankuro didn't say anything until he reached into his bulky toolbox to grab a screwdriver. "Temari isn't the best cook in the world but after years of eating her food, me and Gaara are used to it," Kankuro began to explain with slight humor in his eyes. "I was expecting you to spit it out as soon as you tasted it. But you didn't. You only cringed maybe once or twice."

Xin glared at the back of his head. "That was cruel. You could have least gave me a warning," She huffed, folding her arms in annoyance. She couldn't believe Kankuro didn't at least give her a heads up about his sister's horrific cooking.

"I thought Gaara would've given you a warning when you guys were upstairs."

"That little prick. He probably didn't tell me because he's so butt-hurt about me changing the room around," She growled, glaring at nothing. And here she was, trying to be nice and painted a room that wasn't too feminine for him. He turns around and doesn't give her a damn heads up.

Kankuro suddenly burst out in laughter, scaring Xin. She blinked down as the older male continued to laugh and snicker. When he finally controlled his laughter, he shook his head. "Most of the girls in the village worship Gaara. They think he's the most attractive guy in our village and only have nice things to say about him," He began to say with a snicker coming out here and there. "And then here you come, calling him a prick and telling him to fuck off. It's kind of entertaining. Especially because it's pissing Gaara off so much. It's been awhile since we saw him use his emotions like that."

Xin frowned, tilting her head to the side. "If he has his own little psychotic fan club of adoring girls, why didn't the council just permit him to marry one of them? They would probably take this marriage a lot better than me."

"Well, like Temari said, they want the marriage to seem authentic. It has to seem legit to the public. We couldn't just marry him to one of his fan girls because he's never really paid attention to any of them except for Matsuri. Marrying him to another girl from a different village gives us room to come up with a story that's more believable."

Xin frowned, letting the word sink in. "So a bunch of adoring girls accepted Gaara even though he had a couple of screws up in his head loose when he was younger but the rest of the village didn't?" Xin blinked, quirking an eyebrow.

"The girls are mostly his age so they most likely stayed away from his during that period of time. They probably didn't really see what he was like and only went off of rumors. The rest of the village, especially the older generation, have seen what he's capable of."

"So you bring in another girl from a different village so he seems less dangerous and more humane."

"Exactly."

"Are you aware of what the girl you picked is capable of?"

The room became silent as Xin stared at the back of Kankuro's head. He turned slowly, his dark brown eyes clashing against her lighter-toned eyes. Her face was completely neutral, not a hint of emotion to give anything away.

"What is she capable of?"

Finally, a smile cracked her neutral face. But the smile didn't comfort him and it didn't even make him want to smile in return. The smile across Xin's face seemed mischievous, devious even. The smile unnerved him. And then it was gone. The kunoichi stood up with a hum, stretching her arms above her head and cracking several of her bones. "It's kind of too late to ask questions like that, don't you think?" She hummed coolly.

And just like that, she waltzed out of the room.

* * *

Not long after Xin had waltzed out of the room, Temari stepped into the room from the kitchen. She noticed the disturbed look on Kankuro's face almost immediately. "What's the matter with you? I know my cooking isn't the best in the world but it isn't that bad," She snorted, poking fun at herself.

"What do we know about Xin?" He asked, completely ignoring her question. The blonde frowned, her eyebrows knitting together in question. Kankuro always took a shot of her lack of cooking sills after dinner.

"What do you mean what do we know about her?"

"What do we know about her besides her name, her age and that she has two sisters? What do we know about what type of person she is or what type of kunoichi she is?" He pressed, turning around to finally face his older sister. Temari blinked, trying to figure out where he was going with this. Kankuro sighed, clearly aggravated that she just wasn't get the hints. Instead, he recounted the conversation that he shared with Xin to his sister.

"And she had this weird smile, like she was plotting on something. I think we should have asked more information about her before agreeing to this arrangement. Do you really think we can trust her–to marry our brother?"

Temari was quiet, mulling over his words. They really knew next to nothing about Xin. The council members of Konoha seemed eager to get rid of her but they also praised her. If she was the talented ninja they claimed she was, why would they readily give her up to another village?

There couldn't be anything wrong with her strength and skills, she carried herself with confidence like she could handle things. So what was it about her that set Kankuro off? She had coyly alluded that she wasn't the one to make an enemy out of. Why? What was she hiding? Her lips thinned out in thought. She remembered when she first met Xin yesterday and the smell of blood had mixed into Xin's natural scent.

And then there was her aura. It hung over Xin and washed over people, threatening to drown them. It really unsettled Temari. Xin just seemed so innocent with her goofy smiles and sarcastic humor. But she couldn't lie. There was something definitely off about her.

"We should keep an eye on her. We've already agreed with Konoha, we can't send her back now. They would probably take offense to that. As far as allowing her to marry Gaara, he can handle himself just fine. Out of all the times someone has tried to kill him, I'm sure he won't let his five foot two fiancé kill him."

Kankuro only nodded.

* * *

"It's freezing out here," Xin grumbled two mornings later at around five thirty in the morning. She was standing out in the back of the house. She was dressed in dark pants and a matching shirt with her hair twisted up into a braided bun. After two days of wandering aimlessly about the house, Xin had decided that she had slept in enough and that it was time to get back on her strict regiment that had been drilled into her since she was small.

Xin turned and moved back towards the back porch, she would never be able to concentrate if sand was constantly blowing into her face. She sat down with her legs folded under her and her eyes slid shut. She would have to meditate for a half hour first. After that, she would have to train the length of her Byakugan. At the moment she could see up to 10km. She would then practice her Gentle Fist technique and would end her training with medical ninjutsu.

By the time she wrapped up her training for the day, the sun was blazing high into the sky. Her face and neck were slick with sweat as she finished up her healing technique. She sure as hell shouldn't have complained about the cold when she first stepped outside.

Xin stood, scowling harshly under the sun. Grumbling to herself, she quickly left the burning backyard for the safety of the cool house. She was aware that she had been the only one not to leave. Gaara had left for the office an hour after she had finished meditation. Temari and Kankuro stayed until early afternoon before leaving.

She padded through the empty house, unwinding the bun and letting the braid fall down her back. The young kunoichi stepped into her new bedroom, smiling in victory once she saw it was as she left it. She really didn't care what her pain in the ass fiancé said, the room was staying this way.

Xin looked through her clothes, frowning softly when she came across her usual ninja garb. She pinched the fabric of the black skirt and sighed heavily before moving on to find something else for the day. She wasn't going to bother dressing in her garb as if she was about to go on a mission. It would only annoy her.

Instead she settled on a purple tank top paired with black pants that bunched up in the middle of her shins. She twirled the end of her braid and left it alone. Grabbing her sandals, she slipped them on and glanced in the mirror. She looked like such a..._civilian_. She just looked so regular. She glared in disgust. How could she allow this to happen? This wasn't her. She was not some regular civilian woman. She was a kunoichi. She was trained to be a cold-blooded killer.

And she was.

* * *

"Fuck this village, I swear to God," Xin grumbled as she explored Suna. It wasn't the village itself that was pissing her off. It was the location. "What was the founder of this village thinking when he settled here? Who the fuck thinks living in the middle of the desert would be a good idea?" She continued to grumble to herself as she weaved through the sanded roads.

She was somewhere downtown, if the bustling atmosphere was anything to go by. She supposed it reminded her of Konoha. Civilians mixed with shinobis milled about, visiting shops or restaurants for the day. It caused her to miss her home. Shaking her head, she continued to explore Suna. She explored all that Suna had to offer from the downtown area to the quiet homes and even to the slums. She came across the Suna Hospital, the Academy, training grounds, and finally the Kage's tower.

Xin stood outside the tower, arms folded with her hip cocked to the side. She stood there for several minutes, glaring in annoyance at the building. Should she really go in there? All it would was start another argument between them. God, she hated that guy.

Xin had to guess that she looked suspicious standing outside of the Kage's tower glaring at the building because two girls suddenly approached her. They seemed to be in the same age group of Xin and they really didn't seem like a threat to her, so she calmly regarded them. They were both around the same height with brown hair. Although one's hair was a darker shade of brown than her friend's hair. They were both kunoichi, seeing as how they both sported the Suna hitai-ate.

_'Wow, that flak-jacket is hideous,' _Xin thought blandly, her calm façade never fading. "Is there something I can help you with?" She asked after a moment's pause. Not that she didn't love being stared at, but she had more pressing matters to attend to. Like annoying the fuck out of Gaara for kicks.

"You're not from Suna, are you?" the one dressed in the ugly flak-jacket asked. Xin had to wonder if it was just her jacket specifically or the jackets in general that were ugly. It made her look really frumpy. Plus, there was that sandy color again. Beige. What the hell was with these people and the sand colors?

The only thing Konoha associated green with _(because you know, Konoha was the village hidden in the leaves) _were the flak-jackets. Other than that, Konoha was an explosion of colors. For God's sake, Naruto wore orange on a daily basis. The only ones who wore green were Maito Gai and Rock Lee. And they were just strange guys. But these people took their colors and loyalty to their village to an entirely different level.

"What gave it away?" Xin asked with a quirked eyebrow. Did she really stand out so much that it was obvious that she wasn't from Suna? _'Oh, it's probably the lack of sandy colors,'_ she thought sarcastically.

"We've never seen you around before," the other one stated. They looked at Xin from head to toe. They could see slight muscle tone in her arms and calves and the scars that were scattered about her body. The only other thing that stood out was the black spiral symbol tattooed on her arm. If it hadn't been for that, they would have guessed that she was a normal civilian. There was no hitai-ate on her and she wasn't dressed like a kunoichi would be dressed. She stood out with her dark hair and pale skin against the sand.

"I'm from Konoha," Xin stated simply, waiting for the response. As she stated before, Konoha and Suna didn't really have problems. But there was the Invasion of Konoha about five or so years ago that Suna partook in during the annual Chunin exams, so she guessed their friendship was a little shaky. But she was sure everyone was over that. It was five years ago, after all. Who holds a grudge for that long? She paused, frowning. Clearly these people did since the older generation was still weary of Gaara. Well, she couldn't blame them. She knew Konoha elders were weary of her too.

"Konoha?" The gaped in unison. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Was it really that shocking that she was from Konoha? She could understand if she was Iwa, Suna had a real problem with Iwa. "Are you here on a mission?" the one with the darker hair asked.

_'If only,'_ Xin thought with a slight attitude. Instead, she shook her head no. "I'm a...special friend of the Kazekage," She stated, trying to think of the right word. She was sure that the marriage wasn't ready to be announced to the media and public so she couldn't just go around telling random girls that she was going to marry their Kazekage.

The one with the frumpy flak-jacket eyed Xin carefully, frowning softly. "I didn't know he had a special friend from Konoha," She stated softly, dark eyes clashing with Xin's light eyes. Xin returned her stare, eyebrow quirked.

"Perhaps there's a lot of things you don't know about your Kazekage."

Xin watched in slight amusement as a look of offending shock crossed her features. She smiled innocently and twirled the end of her braid around her finger. Clearly this girl, and her friend, were apart of Gaara's fan club that Kankuro had mentioned during their conversation in the living room. It probably wasn't wise to go around taunting girls and making enemies. "I'm only kidding," She added, although the two could tell she wasn't really kidding. "I have a dark sense of humor," She continued with her innocent smile. "I'm Hyuga Xin," She introduced politely.

It was quiet as the frumpy looking kunoichi continued to stare at Xin. Her friend quickly cleared her throat, smiling tightly. "I'm Sari," She introduced simply. "And this is Matsuri," She nudged at her frumpy looking friend. "I apologize if we overwhelmed you. We don't get a lot of visitors from Konoha."

"I'm aware," Xin simply stated, noticing them shooting looks at the symbol tattooed on her arm. She only smiled and shifted so that the tattoo would out of view. She didn't have the time to tell them of her rank back home. "I'll be leaving now. Important business to discuss," She nodded towards the Kage's building before setting off before they could ask her anymore questions.

She climbed the stairs, wondering why there was so many, before finally reaching the top floor. She knocked three times and opened the door when she heard Gaara give her the permission. He glanced up from whatever document he was looking over and slumped his shoulders.

"Nice to see you too, honey," Xin sarcastically stated, seating herself on the couch. He shot her a dirty look. "Oh, don't be like that. I'm only trying to keep up appearances," She teased in a sickeningly sweet and sugary voice.

"There's no one here to keep it up for," He pointed out with a dry tone laced into his voice. Just what the hell was she doing here? Why wasn't she back at the house? The last he heard of her, she was in the back training. He had been a little surprised, she had been up before anyone else. Well, at least before he left for the office.

"Doesn't mean no one is listening," She stated in a sing-song voice, going out of her way to try aggravate him. If that slight twitch was anything to go by, she was beginning to succeed. "Anyway, I met two of your fan girls. Nice girls, I think. Although that flak-jacket really makes her look frumpy. It's not protocol to wear them, is it?"

Gaara blankly stared at Xin. Not only did she insult one of his villagers by calling her frumpy, she also called the uniformed jacket frumpy. Was she aware that she was being impolite? He would've sworn that girls who were raised in highly respected clans were more polite versus girls who weren't.

"No, it's not protocol. You don't see Temari and Kankuro wearing them, do you?"

"I just thought they had special perks seeing as how they're related to the Kazekage."

"Was it protocol to wear flak-jackets in Konoha?"

"Our flak-jackets didn't make us look frumpy. Plus, they weren't beige."

"What's wrong with beige? And they don't make anyone look frumpy."

"My great Grandmother wouldn't wear beige. And have you seen them? They're frumpy."

Gaara sighed heavily. Just what the hell was the point of this conversation? Why did she have such a problem with the sandy colors that were prominent in Suna? Who the hell even cared about the colors?

"Anyway, your fan girls? They seem more tame than the fan girls back in Konoha. Those girls lost their fuckin' marbles when the 'heart throbs' of Konoha hit puberty. I swear, one girl tried to sneak into the Hyuga compound just to see my cousin."

"Who are these fan girls you keep speaking of?"

"Hm? Oh. Um. What were their names?" Xin paused, trying to remember the brunettes' names. "Oh," She snapped her fingers as she finally recalled their names. "Sari and Matsuri. You know, I think Kankuro mentioned a Matsuri to me. I wonder if they're the same? Probably. He said she's the only one you've ever paid attention to? Did you date her?"

Gaara looked at her. Did he seem to be the type to date? Obviously if he dated, the elders wouldn't have arranged a marriage for him. "No, I didn't date her. She is a former student of mine and now she's a friend. We've never dated."

"Really? I bet she wants to date you. She was so defensive about you."

"What did you say to her?"

Xin rolled her eyes as he shot her an accusing glare. He was acting like she broke her arm of something. "I only teased her a bit. I told her I was a special friend of yours and she told me she wasn't aware that you had a special friend from Konoha. So I said there might be a lot of things you don't know."

His glare became harsher. "You had no right to say something like that," He stated in a snappish tone. Xin sat up, a slightly annoyed expression gracing her face. Why was he getting so worked about it? Again, it wasn't like she broke the girl's arm or anything.

"I was only kidding. Besides, what should have I said? That I was your fiancée? She'd probably buss a fuckin' vessel in her brain if I said that. Would that have been better?" She stood up to her meager height, hands positioned on her hips. Before he could say anything in reply, a shinobi suddenly appeared in a swirl of sand. Xin's eye twitched. Really? More sand? Of course. What was she expecting them to appear in? A swirl of glitter?

"I don't have time for this. You are dismissed," Gaara waved his hand in her direction, pulling out a scroll that was clearly meant for the shinobi. Xin blinked at him, her eyebrows raised in an offended shock. The shinobi glanced her way, clearly wondering who she was.

"Did you just–"

"Goodbye, Xin."

She stomped away, remembering to flip him off right before she left.

* * *

_Xin's P.O.V_

The only good thing about Suna was the clear view of the sky. Back in Konoha, the trees were always in the way. But here, in this God-forsaken desert village, I had the perfect view of the sky. It was littered of a thousand twinkling stars. The moon hung in the middle of the cluster of stars, shining proudly against the dark sky.

I sighed heavily, swinging my legs as I sat on the edge of one of the taller buildings. After Gaara had rudely dismissed me_ (who the fuck did he think he was, dismissing me like that?) _I wandered around Suna until that glowing ball of a sun settled and allowed the moon full reign of the sky. Noticing just how beautiful the sky was, I opted to star gaze instead of returning to the Sand sibling's home. My home.

But it wasn't my home. Well, it was. But it wasn't. I didn't want to go back there in fear of being alone. That house was way too big for the Sand siblings to own. They should have had a smaller house to live in. It seemed like they barely spent time at the place. It just felt so empty. I couldn't be there. I hated being alone. I mean, I was alone now but I had the hustle and bustle of Suna's nightlife to distract me. Even during the night, downtown was still as lively as ever. It was a good distraction.

I never could deal with loneliness and the quiet too well. That's when my blood lust seemed to kick in. It was strange to have the urge to kill triggered by something so simple as loneliness and the quiet. I could understand when I actually seen blood or when my life was on the line. I could see how then my blood lust would kick in and cause me to go berserk.

But being left to the quiet? What the hell was wrong with me? I bet that's why the council thought I was perfect to give to Gaara. Why not pair a recovering homicidal manic with another homicidal maniac? Match made in heaven, right?

My thoughts wandered to the conversation I shared with Kankuro the other day. It probably wasn't nice that I had creeped him out like that. But I wasn't sorry. They needed to know that I was not a normal girl. They needed to be weary of me. They needed to be cautious of me. It's not like they could really do anything about my psychotic nature. It was too late, I guessed. I'm sure the papers to change my village in the Bingo book and such was already put through. I was no longer a kunoichi and citizen of Konoha. I was a kunoichi and citizen of Suna. It was too late to go back to Konoha.

Besides, I'm pretty sure there are no givsie backsies in arranged marriages of this caliber.

I sighed heavily and idly played with my braid. What would this marriage lead to? Despite our homicidal statuses, Gaara and I had next to nothing in common with each other. Well, that and our obvious hatred for one another. Would this be one of those arranged marriages where we rarely spoke to each other unless it was necessary? Would we eventually take separate lovers on the side to feel some sort of pleasure that we just couldn't find in each other? Would we have a child only because it was expected, not because we wanted to?

Is that the life I was destined for? Was I really destined to have a bitter marriage where I eventually grow to despise even looking at my husband? Just what in the hell had I done to deserve a fate like that? I had never really thought of marriage _(for fuck's sake, I'm only eighteen, why would I?!) _but not once did I ever think I would be forced into a marriage that wouldn't be full of love. I knew that I probably would eventually be married off, probably to someone from a clan. Maybe someone from the Uchiha clan or something. But not the freakin' Kazekage of Suna.

How could the very people I fought to protect and the village I fought to uphold throw me to this village so easily? How could my parents do that? How could Tsunade allow this? They didn't even try to put up a fight for me. No, instead they praised what a talented kunoichi I was. How I would be a great addition to their village. How I was just so proficient in getting my missions done. This was all planned! It had to have been. They were ready to get rid of me! It was planned from the start, it had to be.

Tears brimmed my eyes, threatening to spill over any second. How could they do this to me? My forehead began to ache and I pressed my hand to it, feeling past my bangs to it. I couldn't see it but I knew what was imprinted on my forehead. I knew it was there. And I knew Konoha was waiting. The minute Suna turned on Konoha _(it wasn't like they were one hundred percent sure Suna would, but Konoha was still being cautious. They did betray Konoha once before)_ and thought they could use my Byakugan against Konoha, my Father would be ready.

I frowned in disgust. He would be ready to murder his own daughter with one seal.

My forehead continued to ache.

* * *

The days continued on in a blur for Xin. She awoke every day before the sun awoke for her training, finished sometime in the afternoon and explored Suna. She avoided speaking with anyone, including the Sand siblings.

She didn't bother with eating breakfast or dinner with them. She steady trained through breakfast and didn't return to the house until almost midnight. If and when she did eat, the three siblings were unaware. When they asked her about it, she would mutely shrug and then quickly leave, avoiding any further conversation with them.

"What did you do to her?" Temari asked with a slight hiss as Xin left the kitchen. In a rare moment, Xin had actually attended dinner with the three of them. She remained silent however, quietly thanking Temari before stalking off to hide out in her room.

Gaara glanced up at his older sister, frowning. "I haven't done anything to her," He stated in slight defense. What, his fiancée finally shuts up and his sister thinks he had something to do with it? He hadn't even spoken to her since she came in talking about frumpy flak-jackets and Matsuri.

"Something happened to her. She was so talkative and now she's..." Temari frowned off, not sure what to call it. Depressed? Anti-social? She didn't know what exactly to call her, but Xin was not being her usual self. Not that Temari knew what Xin's usual self was like. But she was sure the young teenager wasn't like this normally.

"Have you talked to her at all?" Kankuro asked, shoving rice into his mouth. Rice was pretty much the only think Temari didn't turn into a failed experiment. Possibly because they had a rice cooker so it wasn't her technically cooking...

"No."

The two elder siblings sighed heavily. "If you're going to be married, communication is key," Temari stated, shaking her head. "Even if she doesn't tell you what's bothering her at first, it will still mean something that you actually went out of your way to ask her," Temari continued on advising him. Gaara only hummed but Temari knew he was just going to disregard the piece of advice. "When was the last time you actually had a conversation with her?" Temari asked. Maybe it was something that Gaara said that had set Xin off.

"The day she first started training. She came in talking about how the flak-jacket made Matsuri look frumpy and that she had teased Matsuri."

"Okay, what did you say to that?"

"I told her she had no right to do that."

Temari and Kankuro shared a look. "You think she's pissed he defended another female?" Kankuro prompted, supporting his face by resting his cheek against his knuckles. Temari twisted her lips in thought, thinking it over.

"No, she doesn't really seem like she would be jealous of Gaara defending another female at this stage in their relationship. Did you say anything else to her, Gaara?"

Gaara sighed heavily. Clearly he didn't care too much for this conversation. "A shinobi came in for a mission so I dismissed her," He stated simply, not seeing the point in any of this. If Xin wanted to walk around in self-pity and cut herself off from them, who the hell cared? Things were much quieter now.

"You dismissed her? Did she leave quietly?"

"She stomped off and flipped me off before leaving."

"It might have pissed her off for the day but I doubt Gaara dismissing her would cause her act the way she's acting," Kankuro pointed out. They paused when they heard some shuffling upstairs and waited until they heard the bathroom door close and the shower start up.

"Well," Temari stood up first and began to gather the dishes off of the tables. Kankuro and Gaara stood as well, following her lead and helping her gather the dishes. "I'll try to speak to her about it. She may open up a little more since we're girls. Whose turn is it to dishes?"

"It's Gaara's turn today," Kankuro grinned widely. One thing he hated to do was dishes. Gaara shot him a look but obeyed the rule, turning the water on the fill up the dishes. Temari gave him a look that told him not to break any dishes before she and Kankuro moved to the living room.

"Has Konoha sent you any word about Xin?" Kankuro quietly asked as they settled down in the living room. The eerie conversation he shared with Xin had bothered him this whole time. He pestered Temari into sending a letter to Tsunade in hopes of finding anything out about the mysterious girl.

"Not yet," Temari shook her head. She suddenly stood up. "That reminds me, I have a mission report to get together for Gaara in the morning. Good night," She quickly stated before hurrying off for her room. She didn't wait long enough for Kankuro to reply, she had things to do. Unlike Gaara's plain room, Temari's room looked and felt like it was actually lived in. It was decorated in her favorite color, lavender, and had pictures of her family and friends. Admittedly it wasn't as nice as Gaara's room now that Xin had done what she wanted with it. Maybe she would ask the girl to help redecorate her room.

She settled on her bed, pulling out a single scroll from her pouch. She had lied to Kankuro when he had asked if Tsunade had sent any word on Xin. Temari had received the scroll from a messenger that day, sometime during the afternoon. She was afraid of the contents and afraid that Kankuro would be right about being cautious of the type of person Xin was.

Despite knowing her for barely a week, Temari liked the girl. Not because she had agreed to marry Gaara or because she was trying to get along with her and Kankuro. She liked the girl because she spoke to the three of them as if they were regular people. She didn't speak with fear to Gaara, despite knowing he had been a murderous pre-teen. And she didn't speak nervously to either her or Kankuro despite the fact that they were related to the Kazekage. Most of their villagers fell over themselves speaking to them, bowing and smiling.

Maybe it was because she was an important person back in Konoha or maybe it just because she saw them the same way she saw everyone else. As people. Or shinobi. Maybe that's why she didn't fear Gaara. Because she had murdered people as well. And she was just a person. With a sigh, Temari unraveled the scroll and spread it across her folded legs. The contents of the scroll weren't that long and she could tell it was actually Tsunade's handwriting, not someone hired by the council to ease Temari.

_'Let me just start by saying that Konoha nor Xin is plotting something against Suna,' _the letter began, rather bluntly. But Temari could only smile wryly. What else could she expect of Lady Tsunade? That woman never held back. '_Xin would never agree to marry Gaara if she knew she would eventually turn on him and kill him.' _

_'However, that does not mean you are imagining her strange behavior. The council members agreed on Xin solely for one reason. That reason being is that Xin has a large amount of blood-lust. To put it simply, or in her own words, she's a psychotic murderer with a craving for blood. Those are her words, not mine. _

_Xin is a dangerous girl. She may not seem like it because she's small, but she is dangerous. However, I doubt she'll attempt to kill you or your brothers. She only attacks if provoked. I'm sure she only put you and your brother on edge about herself as a warning not to take her lightly. My only word of advice is don't provoke her. Also, be cautious of her during any sparring matches. She tends to go a little overboard with them.' _

And that was it.

Temari read the letter over three times to make sure she wasn't imagining things. If what the contents of the letter was true, it made so much sense why the elders of Konoha were so eager to get rid of her. She was a danger to everything around her. They would have taken any chance to get rid of her. The blonde wondered what would have happened if the marriage hadn't been arranged. It was clear they wanted Xin gone. If she hadn't been sacrificed for the marriage, what would had they done? They probably would have assassinated her if they felt like she was too much of a danger to Konoha.

It all made sense to her. The eerie conversation with Kankuro, her heavy aura, the smell of blood mixing into her scent. The slight twitches every time she and Gaara began to bicker. That must have been why Gaara's infamously blood stained past didn't bother Xin too much. After all, who was she to judge him when she still lived her life drenched in blood? She craved blood, she enjoyed murdering people. She saw nothing wrong with it. How could she see anything wrong with it when she still lived her life they way he had once lived his?

Temari wasn't sure what to think. Tsunade did state that Xin only attacked if she's provoked enough and that she took sparring a little too far.

She could only sigh. What the hell had they gotten themselves into?

* * *

_Xin's P.O.V_

I frowned as someone knocked on the door ten minutes after I had gotten out of the shower. Calling for them to come in, the door opened and Temari stepped inside the room. The blonde offered a smile but it looked more like a cringe to me. "Something wrong?" I asked simply, brushing my semi-wet hair. She looked around the room, studying the new furniture, color and overall look of the place. I didn't understand why Gaara was so pissed about it. The room looked nice and he hadn't even stepped foot in here since I changed it.

"Are you alright?" Temari asked simply, breaking me from my thoughts. I paused in mid-brush, allowing the brush to almost be tangled in my thick hair. I yanked on it until my it came away easily. Twisting my hair up into a big bun on the center on my head, I titled my head to the side. "You just seem so anti-social for the past couple of days. If we did something to upset you, I'm sure it would help if you would tell us. That way we won't make this mistake again," Temari advised peacefully. I could already tell that Temari was the primary peacemaker. Just like Hinata.

Despite her good intentions, she had this look in her eye. I don't know how to explain it but it bothered me. She looked at me like I was about to go off on a blood rampage. Why would she be looking at me like that? She didn't know about the type of person I was. She didn't know I loved the smell of blood. She didn't know the sound of blood spilling across the floor excited me, putting me on a high. She didn't know that. She couldn't know that. I hadn't told her and no one else in Suna could have told her.

As far as I knew, no one from Konoha had told her anything either before I had left to come here to marry Gaara. Why would they tell them I was a maniac? What type of person would accept someone like me to marry into their family? Even if Gaara did have a dark past, it wouldn't be a good look if he married someone who currently insane.

So why was she looking at me like that?

"I'm fine. Just a little homesick, I guess," I lied easily, smiling to ease her. I wasn't homesick. I couldn't give two shits about Konoha. As far as I was concerned, there was nothing in Konoha for me. Maybe my sisters and my friends, but at this point I barely even cared about them. It's not like they had put up a fight for me.

She nodded thoughtfully. "I know we're asking a lot of you and Gaara isn't making it easy as it could be," She said slowly. I only stared at her as she struggled to find the right words. "But it means a lot to us that you agreed to this," She said, looking down at the floor. Just what the hell was she expecting me to say? 'That's what friends are for'? Were we even friends? I didn't know shit about this girl and she didn't know shit about me either. There was not much I could say besides 'your welcome', I guess.

"It's going to be hard to adjust to the new change but I'm positive that if we put in an effort, we can make a little family out of the four of us," Temari stated with a look of hope crossing her features when she looked up. The strange look in her eyes was gone and she seemed legitimately hopeful.

"Well," I sighed heavily, slumping my shoulders. "I like you and Kankuro enough to try to make a family out of us," I chuckled in amusement. "I'll try not to break Gaara's arm and beat him with it. But I swear to God, if he dismisses me like I'm some random person again, I'll break his fuckin' neck."

Temari laughed nervously. I think she knew I was serious.


	3. It's where my demons hide

Nearly three weeks had gone by without anyone mentioning the marriage. Xin didn't really care either way and she was sure Gaara didn't either. In the three weeks, she continued to train, explore Suna and get to know Temari and Kankuro better.

She didn't really bother with Gaara because she knew their conversations wold always end up with childish bickering. During the weeks, she was able to meet the councilmen of Suna _(she was not fond of any of them except for Baki)._ She also met the Honored Siblings of Suna, Chiyo and Ebizo. Apparently it was a big deal to meet them because they had cut the outside world off years ago.

During the three weeks, Xin had begun to grown antsy. The lack of missions was really beginning to get to her. Back in Konoha, she had always been out on a mission. And when she wasn't on a mission, she was raking up hours at the hospital. She wasn't sure how long she would be able to last.

"Are you alright? You've been staring at nothing for the past ten minutes," Temari suddenly stated, snapping her fingers in front of Xin's face. Xin blinked rapidly, snapping out of her thoughts to look up at the blonde with a confused frown.

"Ah? Oh. Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking."

"About?"

Xin sighed heavily and leaned back, frowning. "Not that I don't love wandering around the village, because believe me, it's just oh so exciting," Xin sarcastically snorted. "But I'm bored. I mean, I rather talk about the damn wedding over than what I've been doing..."

"Well..." Temari trailed off, shifting towards the pale woman. The Hyuga quirked an eyebrow, looking at her. "The council believes it's about time we announce the marriage to the public," She hummed, waiting for Xin's reaction.

"Ah," Xin nodded quietly. "So, will I be able to have missions soon or...? Because I'm a kunoichi before I'm a wife, you all know that right?" Xin's gaze turned more serious. She really didn't care what the marriage agreements were as long as she still did what she loved.

"I didn't know not going on any missions were bothering you so much," Temari tilted her head to the side. Of course, that was a huge lie. She knew that it was taking a lot of self control for Xin not to go out and viciously murder someone.

Xin could only huff, folding her arms across her chest. "I was one of Konoha's top ANBU members. Of course it's bothering me. It's pissing me off, to be honest. I'm not...a _civilian._ I can't just constantly train for nothing and wander around the village. It's like I'm getting cabin fever."

"You were a top ANBU member?" Temari asked with her eyebrows shooting up her forehead. Ah, this could really be a problem. ANBU members usually received the most dangerous missions. They always receive A or S ranked missions, nothing lower than that. If those were the kinds of missions Xin was used to receiving on a regular basis, she would really lose her mind.

Suna was not exactly convinced she was trusted enough to be sent out on any missions. Not that they thought she would betray them. They were more concerned that they would send her out on a mission and she would go rogue.

"You probably won't be allowed any missions until after the wedding."

"If you're worried about me going rogue, you're wasting you time," Xin suddenly spoke, her eyes blank. "It's not like I'd run back to Konoha, I don't belong there anymore," She licked her lips and then frowned softly.

"That's up for Gaara and the council to decide."

Xin only sighed heavily and nodded, quietly accepting the answer without a fight. She was certain that Gaara would hold out on her when it came to giving her missions just to piss her off. The young kunoichi puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. "Gaara should be home soon," Temari hummed thoughtfully. Xin quirked her eyebrow, it was barely two in the afternoon. Why was he coming back so soon? Temari noticed the confused look and only smiled. "Just come into the living room when he returns, alright? We have some things to discuss."

Xin had a bad feeling.

* * *

"Gaara-Kun? May I speak with you?" Matsuri timidly stepped into the Kage's office, hoping that her former teacher had the time. He glanced up with a curious gleam in his eye. Nodding silently, he motioned for her to come forward. She shifted nervously, frowning and biting her bottom lip. Just how was she supposed to go about this? Matsuri shifted again for the second time before steeling her nerves, squaring her shoulders and looking her Kazekage dead in the face.

"Who is that Hyuga woman?" She asked rather boldly. Gaara resisted the urge to sigh in exasperation. Ever since Xin had told him that she met Matsuri, he had been expecting this conversation from the brunette. Despite what everyone thought, he was fully aware of Matsuri's affection and admiration for him. You'd have to be pretty blind not to see how she felt for him. If Xin, a total stranger, could easily see the affection Matsuri held for him, what made anyone think he couldn't see it as well?

"A special friend," He replied evenly. Xin really did have a good point when she pointed out that she couldn't just tell Matsuri that she was his fiancee. It probably would shock Matsuri. And quite possibly break her heart.

Matsuri rolled her lips together, not really buying that line. "Will she be leaving soon? She's not here on a mission, Sari and I asked her. She's been here almost a month," She stated with a deep frown. A slight blush painted her cheeks.

"No, she's not here on a mission and no she won't be leaving soon."

Matsuri's frown deepened even more as she glanced at the floor, losing her confidence for a second. "I..." She trailed off, trying to find the right words to formulate. "I don't trust that woman," She suddenly found the courage to say what's been weighing down on her ever since she met that strange woman. "There's something off about her."

Gaara stared at Matsuri but said nothing. There was no point in denying that there was something off about the Konoha native. She just had this look in her eyes that unsettled everyone around her. She put people on edge. "You'll just have to get to know her better."

Before Gaara could finish, there was a knock at the door. Sighing heavily, he gave whoever on the other side of the door permission to enter the office. And speak of the devil, the door eased opened and the woman of the hour stepped into the room. Her hair was messily pinned to her head and she wore a mesh-armored tank top paired with black pants. Dressed lazily, she didn't seem dangerous and she barely even looked the part of a kunoichi. She just seemed like a laid back teenager with no problems to worry about.

But then there was that look in her eye. The complete opposite of her outer appearance. It screamed danger and caused others to stay cautious around her. He could understand why Matsuri didn't trust Xin. Hell, he didn't even trust her.

"Oh," Her eyes landed on Matsuri and he noticed her eyes zero in on the flak-jacket Matsuri was sporting. He forced himself not to groan in annoyance, if she started going off about the flak-jacket again he was going to pin her to the ceiling like he did the first day they met."Hello, Matsuri," Xin greeted her with a smile. "Didn't know I was interrupting, my bad. I hope it wasn't a do or die situation," She shoved her hands into her pockets, tearing her eyes away from the flak-jacket to look at Gaara.

There was something off about her smile_ (go figure, there was something off about everything with this girl). _Almost like she knew the previous conversation was about her. But she only continued to smile innocently, glancing in between them and waiting for someone to speak. "Oh, no. No. Just...just some former concerns I had," Matsuri answered first, smiling awkwardly. "But Gaara put them to rest, it's fine now," She continued to hum, trying to come off as innocent as Xin's current smile.

"That's good then, very reliable, isn't he?"

For some reason, he felt like Xin didn't really mean that. And with that sarcastic glint in her eyes, he knew damn well she didn't mean that at all. The sarcastic glint paired with the slight quirk of her lips gave him all the answers she needed. "Well, since I'm not interrupting anything important, Temari sent me here to get you. She wants to talk with us..." Xin suddenly paused, glancing at Matsuri. "She wants to meet with us back at your house," She continued to say with a funny look.

Gaara sighed heavily and remembered that Temari had told him to come back home early that day because she had some things to discuss with the two of them. It probably had something to do with the upcoming announcement and the wedding plans that were sure to follow. He really wanted to roll his eyes and tell Xin to fuck off but that would probably start an argument he didn't have the time for.

"There's something I need to see my sister about, Matsuri. I'm leaving with Xin. If you need anything else, let me know," Gaara said, standing up. He crossed the room towards the two females. The brunette frowned softly but nodded while the bluenette simply continued to grin.

The walk back to the Sand Sibling's home was quiet, shockingly. He glanced at Xin several times, waiting for her to open her mouth and spew out some sarcastic nonsense. Instead she kept her mouth shut, eyes darting all over the scenery. She seemed to have some sort of fascination with any shinobi that passed their way. The shinobi of course would bow in respect to him and politely greet her. The people of Suna weren't exactly sure who the small female was, all they knew is that she seemed to have ties with the Sand siblings.

He would ask later while she seemed so obsessed with the Sand shinobi.

"Oi, Temari? I'm back! And I brought your brother," Xin called out when they finally made it to the large house. They heard Temari reply from the kitchen and made a beeline for it. As soon as they entered the kitchen, Temari sternly ordered them to sit at the table. The younger teenagers looked at Temari in confusion but quietly sat down. They both looked at Kankuro for some indication of what was going on but he simply grinned in a goofy way and shrugged his broad shoulders.

"The elders are ready to announce the wedding on Monday," Temari began to speak, eyes flickering between the both of them. "I don't know how many times I've said it, but I'll say it again. This marriage needs to seem real," She paused, rolling her lips together. "Meaning, it has to seem like you two actually want to get married. And you know what that means?" She blinked at them and then opened her mouth before they could even think of answering. "It means it'll have to seem like you two know each other."

"..."

Temari sighed, clearly they weren't understanding. "Alright. For example. Gaara, when is Xin's birthday?" She asked, arms folded across her chest. Her youngest brother stared blankly at her. She knew damn well he didn't know when the midget's birthday was. "Mhm. Xin? When's Gaara's birthday?"

"How the fuck am I supposed to know that?"

Temari face palmed while Kankuro broke out in laughter. "This is exactly what I mean," Temari grumbled with a dark look. "You two don't know a damn thing about each other than your places of birth. A married couple knows everything about one another. Xin, when is your birthday?"

"December twenty-seventh."

"Gaara? Your birthday is?"

"January nineteenth."

"Holy shit, I'm older than you."

"So? I'm taller than you."

The fuck does that have to do with anything?"

Temari clapped her hands together before the bickering could escalate. "Focus!" She ordered, giving them both a no nonsense look. "I knew you two didn't know anything about each other. That's why for the remainder of the day, you two are going to sit here and get to know each other."

"This is ridiculous..."

"The fuck I will..."

"There's no room for discussion!" Temari slapped her hands together a second time, eliciting silence from the two. "You two are going to get to know each other. I don't care how long it takes but you will. So, I suggest you two start talking now. Kankuro and I will be in the living room," She gave them a glare before dragging the puppeteer into the living room.

The kitchen was shrouded in silence as the two glared at nothing in particular. Neither of them wanted to be there nor did they care to get to know each other. They didn't even like each other and that's all they needed to know. "My favorite color is purple. Dark purple."

Gaara glanced at the female, frowning in question. "I have a feeling pouting won't do us any good," She shrugged blandly. "And Temari will probably have a fit if she comes back in here and we don't know shit else besides our names. Why not get this over with?" She shrugged for a second time. Gaara was quiet as Xin regarded him blankly. Well, this was new. He would have assumed that Xin would make everything difficult like she had been doing so far. He supposed the pint-sized kunoichi could be mature if she wanted to.

"I don't really have a favorite color."

"It's not like...black or something?"

"No? Why would it be black?"

"I dunno, that's all you ever wear around the house."

"I've never seen your wear purple once."

"I wear purple all the time, you just don't pay any attention."

"Why the hell would I pay attention to the color of your clothes?" Gaara suddenly paused and blinked hard, sighing. "Forget it," He grumbled in slight irritation. It seemed like no matter what they did, they always ended up childishly bickering. "If I had to pick, maroon."

Xin nodded in thought. "My favorite foods are spicy foods. I like sweets too. I can actually be really gluttonous. It's a bad habit," She hummed, remembering all the times she was chased out of the kitchen when she was younger. It brought an almost sad smile to her lips. Gaara studied her face, taking notice of the glazed look to her eyes and the sad smile across her lips. It had been the first time he noticed a look like that on her face. She rarely smiled, only offering forced smiles when the time called for it. Any other time, she always wore a blank expression or an agitated look.

If he didn't know any better, he would have called her pretty. Her skin was pale, as if the she had never seen the light of day _(strange seeing as she was a native of the Land of Fire)._ Her dark hair paired with her light eyes contrasted against the pallor of her skin in a favorable way. She had a slim but small nose and plump dusty pink lips.

Good thing he knew better.

But as soon as the look crossed her face, it was gone. She was looking at him with a quirked eyebrow, prompting him to tell her his favorite foo. "I like salted tongue and gizzard," He replied blankly, watching as her face twisted up into confused disgust.

This was going to be a long afternoon.

* * *

_Xin's P.O.V_

To be quite honest, I didn't pay any damn attention once the marriage was announced. That following morning I stood out on the roof of the Kage's tower along with Gaara, Temari, Kankuro and three council members. Down below, what seemed like the entire village of Suna was gathered. They looked up, some in fascination, some were cautious, and any female that was our age all looked smitten. It reminded me of the time Tsunade took the title of Hokage, standing over all of us as we cheered and applauded the woman.

I had a feeling some of the villagers would not react that way. Especially the love-smitten girls. Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I scanned the crowd for what seemed like the hundredth time. No one was really paying much attention to me, why the hell would they? At the moment, I was a nobody. That, of course, would change as soon as someone opened their mouth and announced this stupid marriage.

A pair of dark eyes suddenly caught my gaze. I paused, holding Matsuri's gaze. If I didn't know any better, I'd say the brunette had it out for me. It was understandable, though. She was in love with Gaara after all and I had been spending a suspicious amount of time with him. Not that I wanted to. Temari and the council forced us to spend time together around the village. For the most part, we quietly bickered with one another until one of his villagers approached us to greet him. We would put on fake expressions, trying to come as if we genuinely enjoyed each others company.

The villagers suddenly broke out in frenzied whispers and I suddenly took notice of everyone staring at me. I was never the shy one, I left that role to my sister. However, it was something about an entire village staring you down that unsettled you. The words Temari had drilled into my head last night spewed out of my mouth automatically. They formed pretty sentences of love and admiration that I supposedly held for the tall red head next to me. I paused in my speech, glancing at him to smile sweetly.

If it weren't for the fact that all our reputations were on the line, I would vomited at the thought of being in love with tall, dark and stupid over here. With a small cringe, I stepped closer to Gaara and twirled my arm around his, smiling the whole time.

The village continued to whisper among themselves some more before finally erupting in cheers. My smile twitched. Well, the villages sure as hell seemed to like Gaara now. Glancing out of the corner of my eye, I saw the satisfied smirks flitting across two of the council members' faces. Baki, however, remained sternly impassive. I knew there was a reason I liked that guy.

Every now and then, I spotted the disappointed or blatantly heartbroken expressions some of the teenage girls wore across their faces. It made feel bad and I pitied them. They had no idea how much of an ass this guy was. Honestly, if I could, I'd give him up to any one of them.

But I couldn't. We were stuck together.

Hurray.

* * *

It was only some days later when Temari was dragging me off somewhere. She had told me to dress in my ninja garb and offered nothing more than that. So, I pulled the outfit I hadn't worn for nearly a month and easily slid into it. The skirt was black and long, reaching to my knees. However, it had two slits on the sides that reached all the way to my hips, falling away to reveal my legs every time I walked. Underneath the skirt I wore mesh-armored shorts. I wore a mesh-armored bra and over top of that I wore a dark purple cropped shirt that sported a triangular split in the middle, revealing the bra.

"Temari, where are we going?" I groaned as we weaved through the sandy streets. Villagers waved at us, thinking it was cute that the fiancee of the Kazekage was spending bonding time with his sister. Clearly, they ignored the fact that she was dragging me around like a rag-doll.

She suddenly paused and I nearly ran into her. The blonde turned to face me, a slightly nervous look across her face. "Well," She sighed heavily, her shoulders sagging. "The council just wants to make sure the Konoha wasn't exaggerating when they told us how talented you were. They want to see your skills for themselves," She stated, eyes meeting mine. I eyed her, my eyebrow quirked in question. I swore, with each passing day, I was more confused and confused by these people. "They want you to put your money where your mouth is," She said after several seconds of me just staring at her.

"...But I never said anything."

"You know what I mean," She rolled her eyes before turning around and quickly walking away with me nipping at her heels. "They've arranged a friendly sparring match between you and one of Kankuro's students, I believe."

"Kankuro has students?"

"Mhm. Gaara had a student, why wouldn't Kankuro have students?"

"I don't know."

Temari snorted at my lack of thought and I only ignored her, following obediently as she bobbed and weaved. Before long, we came to a large platform. That's all it was, just a little bit outside of the village. It was just a platform that was circular and raised several feet off of the ground. Off to the side, I noticed Gaara, Kankuro, the entire council and one figure who I had yet to meet. I'm assuming it's whoever the hell I'm supposed to be sparring. My fingers twitched erratically as we neared the group.

When was the last time I actually laid my hands on another person physically? When was the last time I had landed a real punch on someone and not just my clone? The last time I felt bones splintering underneath my small fist? I flexed my fingers, trying to get my urges under control. Temari glanced at me and I quickly bit my lip, hard. The slight pain was a distraction, forcing me to concentrate on that and not allowing me to twitch.

Once we arrived at the gathering, I was able to figure out the one figure was a female. She looked like she could be around my age with cropped light brown, almost blonde hair, and murky blue eyes. She had one of those ugly ass flak-jackets on and was carrying a large...thing on her back. I looked at the object more closely and realized it was a large humanoid puppet. Oh for the love of...of course she would be a puppeteer. She was one of Kankuro's students, after all. What the hell did I expect?

I wanted to groan out loud. Puppeteers were not common in Konoha, I had no idea how to go about this. My fingers twitched again. But, I supposed that didn't mean shit right now. These people wanted a show and I was going to deliver. "Xin," Gaara greeted me first, surprisingly. I only nodded in acknowledgment. "I assume Temari told you the reason for dragging you out here?" He questioned, looking at his sister. In unison, both his sister and I hummed and nodded our heads.

He nodded in reply and then turned to my opponent. "This is Hatsune, your sparring opponent," He introduced simply. "This is my fiancée, Xin," He motioned towards me. I stepped forward, bowing my head and smiling in kindness. One of the many things my parents had drilled into my head other than the Hyuga Juken, was etiquette. I just remembered the lessons when I felt like it.

She smiled stiffly in reply, offering her own bow. I quirked my eyebrow, her stiff smile setting me off. Did this girl want to spar with me or not? She seemed like she was holding something back. Deciding to chalk it off, I made my way to the platform first. "Xin," Temari's voice suddenly stopped me. She stepped forward, a slight frown marring her lips. She glanced straight into my eyes, trying to find something that I wasn't sure was there. "Just..." She trailed off, trying to form something. "Take it easy."

I only stared at her, eyes blank. Something about the way she spoke and advised me bothered me. Like she knew what I was capable of if I didn't take it easy. Not wanting to alarm her, I smiled sweetly and continued on towards the platform.

Hatsune followed shortly after, standing a good distance across from me. I watched blankly at the giant puppet came to life, animated by the bright blue chakra-threads stemming from her fingers. I shivered as its lifeless eyes roll over to me. No matter how many times I saw it, I was never going to get over how creepy puppets were.

Someone shouted a 'begin' and Hatsune suddenly waved her arms about. The puppet sprang to life, coming at me at a breakneck speed. I rolled out of the way as a blade suddenly popped out of its' elbow joints, nearly stabbing me in the throat. Wasn't this supposed to be a friendly match?

The puppet twisted around to face me, mouth opening to shoot a kunai straight at my forehead. I deflected it with ease but with the sudden distraction, allowed the damn puppet to ram it's large ass body right into mine. I hit the floor with a grunt, rolling away several feet and almost rolling off the platform. Glancing over the edge, I figured I could probably break something if I landed wrong. I turned back towards the puppet and Hatsune, notcing the slightly enraged fire dancing in the eyes of my opponent.

"Is that all?" She called out towards me, frowning harshly. "Is this really all the fiancée of my Kazekage can offer? You're nothing but a weakling, not fit to marry him," She attacked me with words, her frown turning into a snarl. Ah. Okay. I see. Clearly she was one of his _(many)_ obsessed fan girls. No wonder she already had it out for me. Obviously this one was a little more mental than the others. The others who had seen me wandering around after the announcement only had the balls to glare and whisper behind their hands.

Hatsune, however, wanted to kick my ass.

Well, now it was time to hand her ass to her.

Pushing myself up, I silently glared at her. How in the world would I go about attacking a puppet user? Fighting the puppet off would be useless and would waste my chakra. I had to get to Hatsune. But how was I supposed to do that when she had a giant, scary ass puppet flinging its body towards me every other second?

She continued to attack me using her puppet while I tried to figure out how to spring into action. It nearly nicked me with one of its hidden blades, the wooden arm brushing against my exposed shoulder. I somersaulted away, putting a lot of space between us. That thing was made out of wood. A smile crossed my face. I waited, already having her pattern figured out. After trying to slice my damn face open, she would send that thing hurtling at me to body slam me into the ground. And just like I knew she would, she sent the puppet careening towards me.

Instead of dodging and rolling away like I had been, I simply side stepped the thing. Timing it correctly, I lifted my leg, pumped enough chakra into it, and slammed my foot down on the chest of the puppet. The force of my foot colliding with the chest had it splintering open, chips of wood raining down. A choked gasp from Hatsune had me turning to her. An even bigger smile crossed my face. Uttering one simple word, I felt veins pulse out the sides of my temples. My vision became enhanced, giving me a perfect view of her chakra pathway system.

I darted towards her, dodging when she swung a kunai at me. Something told me she wasn't too good at close-ranged combat. If that panicked look in her eyes was something to go by, I'd say I was right. I grabbed her arm and twisted, forcing her to her knees. She let out a noise that reminded me of a pig. Instead of simply punching her, I struck her in the center of her chest with my opened palm. Punching her and knocking her out wouldn't satisfy me. This girl had mocked me, calling me a weakling.

I could both physically see and feel her chakra beginning to shut down as soon as my palm made contact with her chest. Hatsune choked, blood bubbling past her lips as the strike affected her heart. She wasn't going to die but the recuperation process would take at least a month. Her chakra that I had sealed would eventually unseal but her heart and the surrounding area was critically damaged.

Letting go of her wrist, she sagged to the ground. I did nothing to catch her, opting to step back and stare blankly as she struggled to breath. It would have been so easy to just kill her now. All I had to do was stomp on the back of her neck. Or stomp her head in. It didn't matter to me. It would have been so easy and I wouldn't have cared at all. I would revel in the sound of her neck or skull crunching in. The sputtering noise she would make right before the life faded from her had me grinning easily. And then the rotting smell of death would pollute the air.

I licked my lips, seriously considering ending her pathetic life. My fingers twitched and I took a step forward, beginning to raise my foot over the back of her head. All it would take was one simple stomp and my foot would be covered in shards of bone, blood and brain matter. A shout forced me to place my foot down. Kankuro was suddenly there, fretting over his semi-unconscious student. He rolled Hatsune over and began to check her pulse and any other signs to make sure she was still alive.

Temari, Gaara and Baki joined us. "I can't feel her chakra," Kankuro said with a slight panic to his voice. "What did you do?" He turned accusing eyes, ready to kill to avenge his fallen student. I looked down at him, head titled to the side slightly.

"Sealed it."

"_Sealed_ it–_what_? How is that even possible? How can you seal something you can't see?"

"What's the matter with your eyes?"

Gaara was staring at me, focused intently at my eyes. I folded my arms across my chest and sighed, I really didn't feel like explaining why I suddenly had distinctive pupils and bulging veins around my eyes when I didn't have it before. With another sigh, I tried to think how I could explain it. "It's called the Byakugan. It's the dojutsu kekkei genkai of the Hyuga clan. It's basically considered as 'all-seeing'. We have a 360 field of vision and can see through solid objects, like barriers. My sister and I can see up to 10 kilometers. We can basically see everything.

Adding on to that, we can also see chakra, the flow and the circulation system. And because we can see that, we have a developed taijutsu that only can work if the user possesses the Byakugan. Juken. If done correctly, it strikes along the chakra pathway system. You should know that that's the network of vessels that carry chakra. It's intertwined with the body's organs.

When we strike, we can either seal or forcibly open the tenkatsu, which would give us complete control of the opponent's system. I'm basically taking my own chakra and slamming into my opponents, shutting it down. Because the system is so intertwined with our organs, the opponent also takes internal damage that could be fatal," I sighed again, cracking my neck. God, I hated explaining the Byakugan. It was just too much to speak about and even in the end, the listener still might not understand what the hell I was talking about. They were all just staring at me.

"So, you sealed her chakra?"

"And damaged her heart."

Kankuro's eyes widened in alarm. "Her heart? You damaged her heart? Why would you damage that? In case you didn't notice, that's a very important organ. Have you lost your mind?" He snapped at me, rage dancing in his eyes.

"In case _you_ didn't notice, she tried to stab me in the fuckin' face and throat several times with her freaky ass puppet. There was nothing friendly about this spar, she was trying to kill me. I was only trying to defend myself. It was either that or I snap her fuckin' neck," I hissed down at him, holding his gaze with no problem.

"Alright, everyone just calm down," Baki suddenly ordered us, heavy hand on my shoulder. "We wanted to see what she was capable of and now we know," He continued to speak gruffly, eyes glancing between the siblings and myself. I huffed with a slight smirk. They still had no idea what else I could do.

"We were told you knew how to heal. Can you do anything to help Hatsune?" He turned his face towards me, the curtain covering up half of his face and allowed me to only see one side of his face. I glanced down at the puppet user and rolled my eyes.

Dropping down in a crouch, I shooed Kankuro's hands away. He made a noise to reject my hands but I simply glared at him. "If you don't move, I'll seal _your_ chakra," I threatened darkly, watching as he shot me a dirty look. He did as he was told and I held my hands over Hatsune's chest. Green chakra surrounded my hands and I tried to stop the blood-clotting. I must have hit her harder than I assumed. A blood clot could have seriously killed her. Well, maybe she would leave me the hell alone next time our paths crossed.

I could feel everyone's nervous stares on my head.

I smirked.

_End P.O.V_

* * *

"Something is wrong with her and there isn't a damn thing you can tell me to convince me otherwise," Kankuro snapped as soon as he and his two siblings stepped into the Kage's office. Temari settled down on the couch while Gaara settled behind his desk. Kankuro, however, remained standing. "Tell me Tsunade sent us something."

"You're expecting something from Lady Tsunade?" Gaara asked with a frown. He looked in between his older sister and brother and wondered what the hell was going on. He hadn't been informed of any exchange between Konoha and Suna.

Temari's shoulders sagged and the two looked at her in question. "Yes, she sent us a letter back about what we asked," She stated after several seconds of them just looking at her in question. "Kankuro was concerned about her odd antics."

"More like psychotic antics."

"Be quiet, Kankuro."

Temari shot Kankuro a look that told him to calm down. "Kankuro was concerned because the second or third night Xin was here, she made it seem like she couldn't be fully trusted and that she wasn't all the way...sane. He didn't trust her. So, I sent Lady Tsunade a letter asking more about Xin. When they first offered her up, they only spoke about how talented she was but they never said much about her mental state or personality."

The blonde played with her fingers, wringing them together nervously. "Honestly, I was a little put off about her as well. Her aura was too heavy, it was suffocating. And her natural scent...there's the smell of blood mixed into it, like your sand. So I agreed that we should keep an eye on her and I sent a letter to Lady Tsunade asking about her."

The room was silent as Gaara stared at her, waiting for her to continue. "She sent me a letter stating that we would never have to worry about Konoha using her as a means to betray us. But, she also said that Xin was known for lusting over blood. Xin has literally called herself a psychotic murderer craving blood. She's dangerous but as long as we don't provoke her into attacking us, it should be fine."

"How long have you've known this?" Gaara asked with a calm look. He had his own thoughts about Xin's odd quirks. The look in her eyes always unsettled him. They reminded him of a darker time that he didn't like to think about.

Temari glanced at Gaara and then Kankuro. "I've known for maybe a week after she got here," She stated truthfully, waiting for the reaction. She already had an idea of how the two were going to react to her withholding important information.

"You've known for that long?" Kankuro demanded, turning around on his older sister. His eyes were narrowed into thin slits. "The leader of her village told you specifically that she's a _psychotic murderer_ and you let her spar with Hatsune?! Have you lost your fucking mind?!"

Temari sighed heavily, allowing her brother to rant and rave at her. She waited until she was sure he was done yelling at her to finally speak. "Yes, because I'm going to tell the council of Suna that out of all the girls they could pick, the picked a murderous five foot two midget," She rolled her eyes, arms folded across her chest.

"You're starting to sound like her," Gaara added quietly.

She shot him a look but ignored the jab. "Listen, this whole time she's refrained from killing anyone. She didn't kill Hatsune, she was only defending herself the same way she would defend herself if she was sparring in Konoha. We can't treat her any differently now. It wouldn't be right of us. We dragged her into this and we're not going to suddenly shun her because one of her hobbies is brutally disemboweling people."

Neither of her brothers said anything. Temari rolled her eyes and cocked her head to the side, glaring at both of them as they gave her stubborn looks. "Are we clear?"

"Crystal."

* * *

Xin plopped down at the kitchen table later that same day. The siblings shot her the same look, wondering where the hell she had disappeared off to after the sparring match. She looked around at them, tilting her head to the side in question. "The hell have you been?" Kankuro asked first, dark eyes searching for something she wasn't sure of.

Xin resisted the urge to roll her eyes at Kankuro. He had acted short with her ever since she had nearly killed his obsessive student. She was a little disappointed to say the least. She preferred Kankuro over his stupid brother but it seemed like he and his brother would be feeling the same way towards her. "The hell are you so concerned about?" She shot back at him, tapping her fingers against the table. Gaara glanced at the motion and wondered quietly if she was debating on whether or not she could kill Kankuro and run off before either he or Temari could react. Kankuro didn't say anything in reply, simply giving her a look that told her she knew exactly what he was concerned about.

"I went with Hatsune to the hospital to make sure they understood why her chakra was sealed," She began to explain. "And I stuck around the hospital so I asked if I could rake up some hours at the hospital," Xin continued to state, the tapping becoming less clear.

"...The hospital staff _actually_ offered you a job?"

"_Actually_? Um, yeah? Hello, I trained under Tsunade for a year. And besides, I'm marrying the freakin' Kazekage. Not only do I have the credentials to get the job on the spot, I have the connections," She stated as if it was an obvious fact. "I just figured raking up some hours at the hospital would be better than just wandering around Suna and training for missions that I won't get for a long time," Xin shot a dry look at Gaara as she got up to help Temari set the table. The blonde hummed her thanks as the dishes clacked against the table.

The redhead in question simply stared at her, quietly thinking. How could someone who enjoyed murdering people know medical ninjutsu? What was the point of that? What type of contradiction was that? What the hell was wrong with this girl?

"You know why you won't get any missions for a while," Gaara stated simply. He knew that Temari already had that specific conversation with her. He also knew that Xin was becoming a little antsy with the lack of missions. Xin huffed immaturely, going even further to stick her tongue out at him.

"As if I would go rogue," Xin snorted in annoyance with a pout. "I mean, _come on_, have you not seen my hair? I can't keep it in this condition if I'm constantly being hunted down," She snorted once more, caressing a thick lock of her dark hair. The dinner table was quiet as they stared at the young kunoichi. She paused, feeling their gazes on her and frowned. "What? Are you really going to tell me none of you have noticed just how nice my hair is?" Xin asked with a blank expression.

"They didn't tell us you were horribly conceited."

"Fuck off."

* * *

The first thing Xin wanted to say when she was presented with the medical uniform was that it was the ugliest thing she had ever laid her eyes on _(uglier than that God awful flak-jacket)._ While the flak-jacket would make her look frumpy, the medical uniform would make her look fat.

And Hyuga Xin did not look fat.

So, she innocently folded her hands behind her back and smiled a brightly cheery smile. "Ah, do you have anything else medical ninjas wear besides that?" She hummed sweetly to the older medical ninja. The older ninja frowned down at her in thought. There was no way he was going to actually tell her no.

"I suppose wearing the white coat would suffice as well."

Ah...of course it would suffice.

What felt like seconds later, Xin was swaying down one of the many hallways, the white lab coat draped over her small shoulders. She was wielding a clipboard, eyes glancing from it to the numbers painted next to the door. A wide smile spread across her face as she stopped in front of the door she had searched for. Her eyes flew back to the clipboard, seeking out the patient's name that was printed at the top in big bold letters.

**Mikawa Hatsune. **

With a quick knock, she threw the door open with a sweet greeting. "Good afternoon, Hatsune-Chan! I'll be your caretaker for today," She sung out, startling the brunette. She turned to the excitable woman, paling as soon as she realized who was standing at the door.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Hatsune sputtered, narrowing her eyes at the other female. There was no way she was letting that she-demon come near her! She was the entire reason she was confined to the damn hospital in the first place. And now they expect her to allow that same woman to take care of her?

Xin's shoulders slumped, pouting childishly. "I just told you," She hummed with an amused tint to her voice. "I'll be your caretaker. Is there something wrong with that, Hatsune-Chan?" She cooed, closing the door with that same smile streaking across her face.

Hatsune glanced at the door, suddenly feeling a shift in the room. "Why would they let the same woman who put me here take care of me?" She asked with a snarl to her voice. "I don't trust you at all. When I was fighting you, you were out for my blood."

Xin tilted her head to the side, an eyebrow quirked. She continued to smile widely. "Ah, I guess because since I'm the one who inflicted the damage on you, I'd know how to take care of you," Xin explained, her grip tightening on the clipboard. Hatsune's eyes darted to her hands, noticing the action.

"And as I recall, you were trying to spill my blood first," Xin spoke, her tone of voice dropping down to a darker tone. "You're in love with my fiancé, aren't you? Don't think I'm worthy of marrying him? And what makes you the judge of that? Are you worth it? Because from where I'm standing, you aren't shit. Especially since you can't even stand on your own," Xin continued to speak, her smile becoming more sinister.

She was now leaning over the brunette. "But don't worry," She hummed in that same dark tone. She licked her top lip, eyes flickering from Hatsune's eyes to her neck. "I'll make sure I take really good care of him. I love him, after all. Wouldn't want to see him hurt by anybody else or anything."

"Someone needs to make sure you don't hurt him."

"You know, Hatsune-Chan, I really think you should be more concerned about yourself when it comes to me hurting anyone, don't you think?"

Xin suddenly grabbed her hand and with one simple motion, snapped the girl's wrist. Hatsune's foggy blue eyes widened in strangled pain and as she opened her mouth to let out a screech of pain, Xin snatched the biggest pillow she was leaning on and shoved it against her face, muffling the scream that would alert anyone of her distress.

"Atta' girl," Xin cooed soothingly as Hatsune wailed into the pillow. "Just let it out, I'm here for you, Hatsune-Chan," She continued to coo over the muffled cries of agony. "Don't worry, Xinny will take such good care of you. By the end of this, Hatsune-Chan will be best friends with Xinny," She giggled irrationally.

When Xin pulled the pillow away from the sobbing kunoichi, she was terrified of the expression the Konoha native was wearing. "Now," Xin gently gripped Hatsune's hand, watching as it hung limply. "I'll be glad to heal this for Hatsune-Chan. I hope Hatsune-Chan has learned not to fuck around in other people's business. Otherwise...well..." Xin's fingers tightened around the appendage and Hatsune let out a sputtering sob. She quickly nodded, agreeing to whatever the foreign woman wanted.

"Good girl."

* * *

Xin was smiling by the end of the day. After not using her chakra for such a long time, it was a relief to finally feel useful. A particular glint glittered in her eye as she made her way down the hall, passing Hatsune's room.

She knew it had been far too long since she had done any real damage to a person when the feel of simply snapping Hatsune's wrist had her blood pumping. She was on the verge of snapping her arm when she fought it back, remembering where the hell she had been. So instead of inflicting more pain, Xin efficiently healed the brunette's wrist.

She had quietly explained to her what happened to her chakra and that it would eventually unseal. The damage done to her heart, however, was the reason she was confined to the hospital. She warned the brunette not to push herself unless she enjoyed spitting up blood. The brunette had glared at her the entire time, shooting dirty looks. Xin simply brushed them off. She had already showed who the dominant female was when it came to the two. Hatsune couldn't do anything to intimidate her at this point.

She had snidely pointed that out every chance she got.

It was safe to say the brunette hated her to her very core.

Her smile turned into a smirk. Good.

"Hyuga-San?"

Xin blinked, watching as Matsuri and Sari approached her. Did those girls ever do anything separately? Every time she saw one, the other wasn't too far off. And wait, did she just call her 'Hyuga-San'? Who the hell was she, Hyuga Manami? They were the same age. "Matsuri-Chan, Sari-Chan," Xin greeted politely. "Calling me Xin is fine. You make me sound old," Xin whined, waving the formality off. The best friends looked at her, noting the white coat covering her body.

"But you're a higher rank than us. Plus...you're marrying our Kazekage..." Sari trailed off, a slight disappointed look in her eyes. Xin resisted the urge to roll her eyes. How could she have forgotten that Sari was also apart of the psycho brigade?

She only shrugged her small shoulders. "Well, if that's the case, I'm giving you permission to just call me Xin, okay? You make me feel so old when you call me Hyuga-San. Like my Mother or something," She snorted, thinking of the beautiful woman.

The two nodded in sync. "I didn't know you were working at the hospital," Matsuri finally spoke up, studying the white coat. It was definitely a white lab coat that only the medical ninjas wore when they weren't wearing the medical jumpsuit.

"Ah, yeah. I trained under Lady Tsunade and thought it would be a good idea to put my skills to good use. Otherwise, I was wasting them on nothing. The council wants me to get more comfortable before they send me out on any missions," She hummed kindly. "But anyway, what brings you two here? Not injured or anything, right?" She quickly changed the subject before they could think of any questions. She really didn't feel like coming up with lies to go with the lie of her being comfortable. The council didn't give two shits about how she felt.

"We're visiting a friend of ours. Hatsune. She was admitted to the hospital yesterday, I believe," Matsuri stated. "In fact, I heard she was admitted after coming from the sparring arena with you, Xin. Did something go wrong?" Matsuri asked slowly.

Xin stared at the brunette, smiling sweetly. "Actually, yes. Unfortunately, I'm the one who put Hatsune-Chan in the hospital. It seems I was a little off when I used a special family technique on her, I'm afraid to say," She sighed sadly, as if she really cared. "I was her caretaker for today, in fact. I did everything in power to make up for putting her here in the first place. I just feel so awful. She was a little upset but that's understandable. But I did everything I could to make it up," Xin hummed innocently, rocking on her heels.

Matsuri stared at Xin, feeling off about Xin's explanation. If Xin was such a talented kunoichi like Konoha had boasted, how could she have made a mistake? Especially if it was her own family technique. "Well, I have to stop by the Kage's tower, I'll see you ladies later. Try not to overwhelm Hatsune-Chan, she's still recovering," Xin nodded to them, noticing the dark look in Matsuri's eyes. She wasn't sure if it was because she mentioned visiting Gaara or because she mentioned Hatsune.

With one wave, she swayed down the road.

* * *

"Hatsune!"

Hatsune nearly jumped out of her skin when the door was flung open and Sari and Matsuri all but scrambled in. She smiled softly as the two brunettes rushed to her side, fretting over her appearance. She allowed them to fret before finally calming them both down. "I'm fine, girls. Really. I'm alright."

"This was all that Hyuga woman's fault! She even admitted it. I bet she did it on purpose," Matsuri venomously spat, anger flickering in her dark eyes. Sari gasped at her friend's accusation. How could Matsuri say something like that?

"Matsuri!" She squeaked out. "Why would Xin do this purposely? She said she felt just awful about it and she did everything in her power to take care of Hatsune," Sari insisted in a high-pitched voice. She knew Matsuri was upset about the marriage. She, along with all those other women of Suna were upset about it as well.

But that didn't mean she had the right to go around accusing the foreign woman of purposely hurting their friend. It just wasn't right. They had no reason to believe Xin had any bad intentions towards any of them. To Sari, Xin seemed like a nice girl. A strange sense of humor, sure, but she still seemed nice.

"She..." Hatsune trailed off, biting her lip. Should she tell them? She knew the second Xin found out she had said anything, that woman would do more than just break her wrist. That woman was a demon, she could see it in those eyes. She was not humane. "I provoked her, she probably lost her cool because of the things I was shouting at her while we were sparring," Hatsune sighed heavily, shoulders slumping. "I guess the words really got to her because she got all quiet and started to really concentrate on my patterns. I guess she was trying to prove me wrong and took it too far."

The room was quiet as the trio of brunettes stared at one another. "What did you say to her to make her angry enough to put her in the hospital?" Matsuri asked slowly.

"I called her weak and told she wasn't worthy of Gaara-Sama."

"Well, I suppose that's a little harsh."

Matsuri huffed and folded her arms across her chest. "I don't care. I don't trust that woman. She gives me a strange vibe, I'm going to keep an eye for her," She stated firmly.

Hyuga Xin was not who she seemed to be.

–


	4. It's like a dark paradise

The youth of Suna was seriously disturbed.

Or, at least stupid.

That's what Xin figured as she finished up taking care of a young teenager who had come to the Hospital sporting several cactus thorns. Whether they had somehow fallen into a patch of wild cacti plants or they were dared, they all came hobbling in requesting medical treatment. Honestly, she had half a mind to send them away with their injuries. But that wouldn't be a good look for the Kazekage's fiancé, a trained medic, sending someone away. Back in Konoha, she would have cursed these kids out ten times over. But she wasn't in Konoha.

"Fuckin' idiots," She grumbled as she made her way to the front desk. "If this is another kid who has cactus thorns, I swear to God I'm going to smack the living shit out of them. Then I'll smack the girl at the front desk because I know she's giving me these kids because she doesn't like me..."

She rounded the corner and was surprised to see not another cactus victim, but Temari and Kankuro. For a moment, she thought about running the other way. She'd much rather deal with another stupid kid than her two future in-laws. Not that she didn't like the two. Well, she liked Temari. She knew Kankuro was still a little upset with her after putting his student in the hospital but that was just self-defense. Besides, she and Hatsune were getting along so well!

"There she is," the girl at the front desk pointed her out before she could make a quick exit. She stiffened, shooting the brunette a dark look. She knew that girl had it out for her. She was one of Gaara's pissed off fan girls.

"Heeey," Xin hummed, although her voice was high pitched and they knew the greeting was forced. The two looked at her, at least she was trying to be civil in the public's eyes. "What's up?" She continued in that high-pitched voice.

Temari smiled but it seemed rather nervous. Xin glanced in between the two, eyebrow quirked. "We have to get you fitted for your wedding kimono," Temari stated, watching for any signs of Xin catching an attitude.

She hummed again and then looked at Kankuro. "So, why're you here?" She asked with the tilt of her head. Kankuro heaved a heavy sighed and mumbled something. Xin glanced at Temari and then back to Kankuro. She cocked her hip out and propped a hand on the swell of her hip. "I'm sorry, what? You're speaking on volume one."

Kankuro shot her a look but she simply shrugged a shoulder. Temari sighed heavily. "Kankuro will be going with you for your fitting," She said after a long pause. "I have a meeting with the council so I suggested for Kankuro to go with you."

"More like threatened..."

Temari shot an acidic look at him and he quickly piped down. Xin's shoulders slumped. "I understand," She grumbled, knowing she couldn't get out of this. They were going to need her measurements to get her wedding kimono right. Although she didn't really see why it was necessary that Kankuro go along with her.

"Itsuki-San, we have to steal Xin away for the rest of the day. I hope that won't be of any inconvenience to the hospital," Temari turned to the girl at the front desk. Xin almost snorted, that was her name? It was such an old person's name. Maybe Itsuki-San knew what she was thinking because she shot a funny look towards Xin. The pale-eyed woman simply smiled. When Itsuki told them that Xin was free to go for the day, the little woman was promptly dragged away by the older ninja.

Temari told them to behave before separating, going in the opposite direction. Xin sighed heavily, following after Kankuro when he began hurrying down the street. Hands behind her back, she blatantly stared at the side of his face.

"Hatsune-Chan will be released soon," She stated after a long pause of just following him through the sandy village. She knew the only reason he had been cold to her these past couple of days was because of what she did to Hatsune.

Personally, she thought he was going overboard with his feelings. Hatsune was a ninja and she wasn't a prodigy or anything like that. The girl was bound to get put into a hospital eventually. He should be glad it was her, and not some random ninja, who put her in the hospital. At least she didn't kill her. After all, she had been contemplating stomping the back of her head in.

Kankuro only glanced at her, his brow furrowed in what she guessed to be disdain. Xin huffed in annoyance. "You don't have to be so goddamn butt-hurt, Kankuro. She's fine–"

"You put her in the hospital!"

"Oh boo fuckin' hoo! You know what that means? Maybe you should teach her how to control her emotions and not let them cloud her judgment. She was sloppy and way too emotional. Stop coddling her and treat her like a ninja."

"And who the hell are you to criticize me as a teacher?"

"...Someone who kicked your student's ass..."

It was quiet as Kankuro stared at the blank faced woman. A minute clocked by and she smiled sheepishly. "Okay, that was a low blow. I'm sorry for that one," her smile turned into a more sheepish grin as she tried not to laugh.

Surprisingly, a sputtering laugh came from Kankuro. When she wasn't being a psychotic murderer or wasn't cranky, Xin was like any regular goofy girl. "Whatever, just come on," He beckoned for her to keep following.

Xin understood why Temari sent Kankuro along with her. Had she been on her own, she would have wandered right past the Tailor's. It was like a hole in the wall type of establishment. The place smelled of mothballs, which made Xin wrinkle her nose. A little woman hobbled out from the back, graying hair piled high on her head. Her wrinkled face pulled back with a smile when she noticed the pair. "Well, I wasn't expecting the fiancée of the Kazekage," she hummed. "Or his brother."

"Good afternoon," Xin bowed politely with a smile. "My name is Xin, it's nice to meet you," the kunoichi introduced herself with a sweet smile. Kankuro glanced at her, a little put off by her swift change in moods.

The owner huffed, waving Xin off. "As if I don't know you," She let out a laugh that sounded more like a croak. Xin was sure this woman was a smoker, or a former one, at least. "Who doesn't know the Kazekage's little fiancée? Besides, you healed my grandson two days ago. He's got a crush on you, you're all he talks about," the owner seized Xin by her wrist and dragged her towards the back area to get her measurements.

Kankuro followed, grinning as Xin made an exasperated face. This woman sure could carry a conversation all by herself. She produced a measuring tape from her kimono's sleeve and roped it around her waist. "Course, I told him he has no chance with the Kazekage's fiancée–my, your waist is tiny," the shop-keep rambled on. Xin only sighed. "His sister teases him all the time now. Says you wouldn't want him because he's just a boy, he's only fourteen. How old are you, darling? Eighteen? My, my, he is just a boy to you, isn't he? Well, that's alright. Maybe's he'll find someone as pretty as you. Although I doubt it, we don't get girls like you in Suna. You're too pale and your hair is too dark."

Xin frowned, was this woman criticizing her appearance after calling her pretty? Well, that was a backhanded compliment if she ever heard one. She felt prodding at her chest and looked down to see the woman groping around her breasts.

"Uh..."

"What in the world were they feeding you in Konoha?"

* * *

Kankuro was still laughing by the time Temari and Gaara arrived home. Xin was blankly glaring at him, fingers twitching. Temari and Gaara looked in between the two and wondered what in the world had transpired. "Yura-San felt Xin up!"

"She was taking my measurements, dammit!"

Kankuro only continued to laugh, completely ignoring the fiery gaze glaring holes into the side of his head. "She was two seconds away from untying your top and checking to see if everything was real," Kankuro managed to wheeze out in between his laughter.

"I will kill everything you love," Xin threatened, folding her arms across her chest. "I was molested today, you oaf! That is not funny. I'm not going back, you guys can't make me," She hissed at them, bring her hands down on her hips.

Temari only shook her head, patting Xin's shoulder as she walked past her. "You'll have to go for another fitting to make sure the wedding kimono fits once she makes it," the blonde laughed as she disappeared into the kitchen to make dinner. Xin groaned, flopping onto the couch.

"This is all your fault, _honey," _Xin hissed into the cushion.

"How do you figure?" Gaara asked with no real concern.

Xin's head shot up, directing a glare at him. "Oh, I don't know...maybe it's the fact that I have to marry you? I've never had a reason to be molested back in Konoha," She hissed through clenched teeth.

"What a surprise..."

"Excuse me? Listen here, you redheaded fuck–"

"Xin! Come help me in the kitchen."

* * *

"I hate this."

Gaara stared ahead with a blank expression, ignoring the woman beside him. Xin ambled next to him, her arm wounded around his. Every now and then, he could feel her nails trying to dig through the fabric of his sleeve. "And I hate you," Gaara replied simply, not even blinking when Xin turned her acid gaze on him. She growled like an animal and he felt her chakra spike in anger. The citizens of Suna ambled about, smiling and waving to the couple.

"I will disembowel you," She hissed through her smile as an elderly woman neared them. She bowed her head in respect to the villager, causing the older woman to giggle about how respectful the Kazekage's wife turned out to be. Earlier, as Xin was about to leave the house for a shift at the hospital, Kankuro had the big idea of having Gaara walk her to the hospital. The Konoha native had glared dangerously at him as he continued to snicker. Temari had agreed that it would be a good idea.

Gaara only hummed at her threat. "You can certainly try," He said simply as they continued down the sanded roads. "I don't think you would be able to do so, seeing as how we're in the middle of my village," He stated with a cool demeanor.

Xin only rolled her eyes, clearly not impressed. "You don't know what I'm able to do," She replied with an air of nonchalance. Gaara glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She was sporting a sweet smile but her eyes were darting around almost frantically.

"Sounds like an underlying threat," Gaara stated with a relaxed expression. Xin only hummed softly, one of her hands sliding down the length of his arm to intertwine their fingers together.

"Don't make me break your hand," Xin threatened him for the second time in ten minutes. "Have you ever even broken anything? I've heard through the grapevine that you have an impenetrable shield. Is that true? Because, honestly, don't you think that's a little unfair? Sounds like cheating, even. That's not really noble, you know?" Xin hummed casually. Gaara did well in ignoring her, knowing that she was only trying to get under his skin. She was like a damn tic. "Some would say it's even cowardly," She continued to goad, an amused smile gracing her pink lips.

"And you don't think you're cheating when you use your family's technique?" He asked coolly, watching as the smile faded. She shot him a look. "Being able to see Chakra points and sealing it so that your opponent has basically no way of defending themselves? Where's the honor in that?"

Her smile was back but there was a spark in her eyes. Before anymore could be exchanged, she came to a halt, nearly jerking him. "We're here, honey," She cooed sweetly, stepping away and unlacing their hands. "How nice of you to walk me all the way to work, honey," Xin beamed brightly. He almost wanted to glare at her for her loud and bubbly cooing. She was suddenly up in his face, invading his personal space. Her hands came up and he almost shoved her away, assuming she was going to finally choke him out. Instead her hands sifted through his hair, gripping the back of his head.

Xin raised on the tips of her toes _(how short was she?)_ and pressed her lips against his in what he assumed was supposed to be a chaste, goodbye kiss. It honestly threw him off guard but the pressure of her lips were suddenly gone as soon as it registered that she was kissing him. She smiled innocently, flipping her thick ponytail over her shoulder.

"See you after work," Xin hummed over her shoulder. He noticed with a blank look that she exaggerated the sway of her hips.

"Crazy bitch..."

* * *

Xin was cackling practically the entire day as she replayed the quick kiss she unexpectedly delivered to her future husband over in her mind. The utter surprise and possible disgust on his face had been completely worth it. She almost hadn't gone through with it. The very thought of kissing him without Temari forcing her was enough to twist her face up. But, God, his face. Xin giggled almost insanely. "So worth it," Xin muttered as she carefully snapped a dislocated shoulder into place.

"Somethin' funny?" an unfamiliar voice wafted around her as she checked over the young shinobi for any more injuries. Ever since she had started working shifts at the hospital, there had been a lot of young shinobi coming to have shallow injuries healed by her.

Wheeling around, she was met with a shinobi who seemed around her age. His hair was dark brown and long, reminding her of her older cousin. His eyes almost matched the color of his hair, they were just a shade or two lighter. Quirking her eyebrow, she helped the younger shinobi off the exam table and sent him on his way with a warning to be careful. "Can I help you? You don't seem like you need medical treatment," she uttered blankly. The intruder offered her smile, his eyes searching her from her head to her toes. She placed her hand on her hip and tilted her head to the side.

"I just wanted to meet the Kazekage's fiancée. You really are as small as they say," He stepped into the room with a bright smile. It reminded her of Naruto and for that, she smiled softly. He dipped his head in a bow. "I'm Mikawa Jura."

Xin's frown deepened. "You're related to Hatsune?"

Jura blinked in question but nodded. "She was released from the hospital. How do you know her?"

Xin laughed almost nervously. "Ah, um, I took care of her while she was here. And she's Kankuro's student...so..." She trailed off, rubbing the back of her neck. Well, it wasn't like she was lying. Another nervous giggle twittered past her lips as Jura began to thank her for taking care of his sister. "Is there anything else I can help you with?" Xin asked with a tight smile. Jura eyed her expression, a little put off by the smile. "As you can see, I seem to be swamped with an alarming amount of young teenaged boys..."

Jura chuckled at that. "Can you blame them?" He paused with a disgruntled look over his face. "Err, sorry. I'm not flirting with you or anythin'," Again, he paused as Xin quirked an eyebrow. "Not that I wouldn't flirt with you, you're very pretty," Jura scrambled for better words, blushing. "But you know, you're marryin' my Kazekage and he's a little on the frightenin' side."

"Frightening?" Xin's eyes shot up her forehead. "Oh please, my Gaara-Kun?" Xin was grinning now, her voice coming out like honey. "My Gaara-Kun is like a teddy bear," She cooed with her hands across her chest. "He's terribly sweet."

This time it was Jura's turn to quirk his eyebrows at the revelation. "Well, surely his villagers wouldn't really know that side of him, yeah?" He stated slowly, watching warily as a strange smile curled at the young woman's lips.

"Ah, of course, of course," She let out a laugh, waving her hand at a quick speed. "Silly me, he probably wants his villagers to think he's this big bad wolf and all. I've ruined his imagine, haven't I? Ah, hopefully he won't be too mad of me," Xin twittered with giggles.

Jura leaned against the door frame. "I guess everyone has a side to them they don't normally show to just everyone. You two must really be in love. Surprise though, if I was in love with a woman like you, I wouldn't hide you."

Xin stopped giggling almost instantly, eyes hardening over as if she was trying to dissect the true meaning behind his words. "Well, you know, it's different when you're the Kazekage, don't you think? Especially when he's as popular as he is with the female population."

Jura thoughtfully nodded. "Guess that makes sense. What about you? I'm sure a lot of boys were heartbroken when they heard of the engagement," Jura pointed out with his arms folded across his broad chest. Xin noted that he was a little thinner than Gaara.

She shrugged casually. "Perhaps, perhaps not. I'm not sure how everyone back home took it. It was a secret there as well. You can never be too careful, huh?" She leaned against the metal examine table.

"Perhaps not?" Jura snorted, rolling his eyes. "You fishin' for compliments or somethin'? You want your husband to come hunt me down when he finds out I was butterin' his hot wife up?" He snorted for the second time. "No thank you, my Lady. I like my neck where it is."

"You just called me hot."

"Ah...good point, my Lady."

"Calling me Xin is fine."

Jura rolled his neck, cracking it. "What, like we're friends or somethin'?" Jura looked at her like she was crazy. Xin was too used to looks like that and only smiled wryly, chuckling at something he was not aware of. Something that maybe he shouldn't be aware of.

"Sure, why not?" She shrugged one shoulder. "I don't have many friends here. Only Temari and Kankuro and they probably shouldn't count since they're Gaara's siblings. I guess I'm not as friendly as I thought I was. I met Matsuri-Chan and Sari-Chan. Although I doubt I'm popular with them."

Jura scoffed, Matsuri and Sari? They were two of the sweetest girls he had ever met. "Matsuri and Sari? How can you not be popular with them? They're both sweethearts," He stated, thinking of the brunette duo.

Xin snorted, hand on her hip. "Yes, well, you're not marrying the love of their lives, are you?" She asked with an amused twinkle in her eyes. He noticed quietly that her fingers began to tap against her hip. It seemed that each time they brought her marriage up, she did something quirky. Whether it was tapping her nails or getting a really hard look in her eyes. Or maybe even giggling like an insane person

"Well, I'm sure they'll come around eventually. The Kazekage's happiness is what's most important to them and if what makes him happy is you then they'll learn to like you. Or tolerate you, at least. They're good girls."

Xin simply nodded, not believing a word out of his mouth. She knew girls like Matsuri and Sari. They would be polite to her for the sake of Gaara but they would continue to resent her. Not that she really blamed them. She would be the same way if some random girl from some other village married the guy she was in love with. Well...the man she was in love with was bound to find some girl now that she was out of the picture. Xin paused, screwing her face up. That wasn't a road she wanted to go down at the moment so she quickly banished the thought before it could fester.

"You alright?"

She blinked, shaking the remaining thoughts away to look up at Jura. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine. I was just thinking of someone I used to know," She blinked again, this time harder. "Nothing to be concerned about," She waved the notion off with a small smile.

For the rest of the day, she continued to tell herself not to think about her old life.

* * *

_Xin's P.O.V_

"Knock knock," I sung out loudly as I swept into Gaara's office. The disgruntled redhead glanced up, gave me a dirty look, and went back to whatever document he was reading over. I sucked my teeth and crossed the distance between us to stand over his desk. "Oh come on," I sighed dramatically. "Don't ignore your future Mrs. It's rude, don't you think?"

"What do you want, woman?"

I cocked my head back, eyebrows raised and lips curled up. "I'm sorry, what?" I reached up to grab my ear lobe, making a show of pulling at it as if something was clogging it. "What? What did you just call me? Woman? Is that what I heard? Did you just call me 'woman'?" I scoffed. I wanted to reach across the desk and break his damn jaw. Instead, I grabbed the edge of his desk and squeezed. The wood splintered under my grasp and I drew my hands back before I had to deal with the wrath of splinters. In my head, I chanted a series of 'calm downs' and 'deep breaths' but to be on the safe side, I took a step away from the desk.

"Xin. My name is Xin. It's really not that hard of a name, you know? Three letters. That's all it takes. It's barely even a syllable. So, honestly, I don't understand why you would call me 'woman'. Did you forget my name or something? It's rude, don't you think? I know I'm a woman but that doesn't mean call me one. You're being a dick so should I call you that from now on?"

The corner of Gaara's eye twitched but he didn't say anything. I took that as a yes and clapped my hands loudly. "Alright then, that settles it. I'll call you dick from now on," I stated in a peppy voice. "Isn't that cute? It's like we have little pet names for one another!"

"You're psychotic."

My whole body froze and my eyes slowly slid over his face. "I'm sorry, what? It seems like I'm having trouble hearing today. What did you just call me this time?" I asked slowly. I think my eyes had a weird look to them because he honestly looked...not scared...but wary. Like I was some crazed animal. I'm not. I'm not crazy and I hated when people accused me of being crazy. They assume that I'm crazy just because I let every emotion I feel show. I don't hide how I feel, whether I'm fuckin' elated or I'm itching to murder someone. In a world where shinobi and kunoichi are supposed to control their emotions and never show their feelings, I was a big ol' sore thumb.

"Do you want to see psychotic?" I hissed through clenched teeth, stepping around his desk. I grabbed his chair and spun it, hands locking around the armrests so I could lean over him. We were only inches away, I could practically feel his breath fanning across the lower half of my face. Usually the expression I was currently sporting scared people shitless. Grown men usually bowed to this look. So I had to give my future husband credit when he calmly regarded my gaze. If I didn't hate the sight of his goddamn face, I'd probably be turned on right about now.

However, before he could say anything, I felt someone's chakra approaching the room. Knowing I didn't have enough time to scramble away without look suspicious, my hands flew up to wrap around his neck. For a split second, I could see panic flit by in his eyes. I jumped forward, molding my body to his. Our bodies meshed perfectly and a snide voice in the back of my head giggled about how perfect we seemed to fit together. The chair squeaked under our weight as I brought my legs up, knees settling over his legs. He was literally trapped under me and if I squeezed hard enough, I could have strangled him.

Unfortunately, that wasn't my intention at the moment. Instead, I leaned closer and just like this morning, caught him completely off guard with a kiss. But just to piss him off, I made sure this kiss was long, drawn out and deep. The door opened and I heard a collection of gasps and sputtering. Making sure my expression was nothing but innocent, I pulled away from him with a soft 'pop'. The look in his eyes almost had me reeling off of him with a cackle. Instead, my innocent look remained as I turned towards the doors.

Just my luck. Matsuri, Sari and Temari. My future blonde sister in law looked flabbergasted, completely taken aback. Matsuri and Sari, however, looked like they just witnessed the murder of a child right in front of them. "Whoops," I hummed innocently. "We got carried away," I cooed, slowly working to get off of him. "So sorry, didn't mean for you to see any of that. I guess lust can get in the way, ne? Usually I'm on top of detecting chakra," I rubbed the back of my neck as Gaara rubbed his forehead.

He was probably going to kill me as soon as we were alone. "Ah, look at the time! My lunch break is over!" I was grinning like the psycho Gaara accused me of being. "See ya later, honey," I turned to look down at him, grinning. He grumbled a goodbye and I patted his shoulder before quickly dipping out of the awkward office.

I laughed the whole way back to the Hospital.

* * *

As soon as Gaara came home from the office, he was on the attack. It was quiet one minute and the very next, the door was knocked opened violently as sand thrashed about. I let out a shrill scream and rolled off of the bed, narrowly dodging the sand. "Gaara!" I screamed as I feinted to the left and flipped backwards, landing in a crouch on the cushioned table near the window. "You piece of shit," I cursed, ducking my head down as the sand darted at me. I rolled off of the table, running towards the door in an attempt to hunt Gaara down.

Instead the sand whipped forward again, curling around my ankle. I let out a growl as I was yanked right off of my feet and suspended upside down. Blood immediately rushed to my head and the room started to spin as the sand dug deeper into my ankle. "Oh my Godddd!"

"I think I honestly hate you."

I turned my head to the side to lay my eyes on the reason I was being suspended upside down. "Oh, oh, you hate me? Well, listen here, you flaming piece of dog shit," I hissed through clenched teeth. "This? This is not funny, you soulless, shitty ass fuck! It was a fuckin' kiss, what is your problem? Who the fuck reacts like this when a girl kisses them? I swear to God, I'm going to make sure every waking minute of your life is a living Hell when you put me down! Do you hear me? I'm going to fuckin' rip your fuckin' eyeballs and tongue out and use your goddamn skull as soup bowl!"

Kankuro rounded the corner in the middle of my rant and quietly waited until I was done. He whistled in amazement as the words tumbled from my mouth, forming dangerous threats. "What in the hell is going on up here?" He asked slowly.

"Payback," Gaara shrugged blandly. His arms were crossed over his chest. Meanwhile I was beginning to see black dots every time I blinked. Kankuro glanced in between us, dark brow quirked. I knew he was trying to figure out how to diffuse the situation in place of Temari. He wasn't the peacemaker so I couldn't even be angry with him.

"Listen..." Kankuro trailed off. He was probably thinking that he was stuck in between two psychopaths. And he was if I got my way. "I don't know what happened or what she did but I really don't think suspending her upside down like this is the right thing to do. I think she's going to pass out from all the blood rushing to her head..."

Gaara directed a glare at his older brother but said nothing. The sand receded and I suddenly found myself in a heap on the floor. "Piece of shit..." I grumbled, fumbling around until I was sitting cross-legged with my elbow on my knee and my hand supporting my face.

"So..." Kankuro looked in between us again, quietly asking for an explanation. I glanced up at Gaara, eyebrow quirked as he calmly regarded me. With a snide look, he turned sharply and stomped down the hallway. I watched with an exasperated expression until he vanished around the corner and somewhere downstairs.

"We were bickering as usual and Temari, Matsuri and Sari suddenly came. So, to make it seem like we're the happy couple that we're supposed to be," I smiled tightly. "I jumped on top of him and kissed him."

Kankuro guffawed, snorting boyishly. "You jumped on top of him? And kissed him? Oh, holy shit," Kankuro doubled over, placing his hand against the wall and continued to laugh. I watched blankly, quietly waiting for him to shut the hell up.

Clambering to my feet, I placed my hands on my hips. "Oh, shut up," I huffed with a shake of my head. I glanced down to my ankle and noticed with distaste that a dark bruise was beginning to develop where the sand had been coiled. "That little fuck," I grumbled, starting down the hall.

For one reason or another, Temari was going to be late coming home. She probably stated why she would late but I tended to tune a lot of things out. Not because I wanted to or because I didn't care. My mind just tended to wander when I wasn't concentrating on medical business or when I wasn't on missions. But anyway, with Temari being late, I decided that I should get dinner going.

Kankuro followed behind on heavier footsteps, not saying anything as he trailed me to the kitchen. I peeked into the fridge and the cabinets for the ingredients. Humming in thought, I decided making stew would be sufficient enough for now. "Hatsune was released from the hospital today," I hummed in thought as I began to gather the ingredients. I knew Hatsune was a sore spot for him but I stomped past it. "She was in good health. Her brother came to speak with me today."

"Jura?"

"Mhm. He said I'm hot."

Kankuro snorted and shook his head. "Why am I not surprised. Though, I wouldn't really say you're his type. You know, besides being hot, I guess."

"You think I'm hot too?"

"I'm not going to answer that, you're marrying my brother, remember?"

"Jura reacted the same way."

Again, Kankuro snorted and shook his head. "Did you tell him you're the reason why Hatsune was in the hospital?" He asked. I paused in what I was doing, taking a deep breath and rolling my eyes. What the hell was with these two today?

"Well, maybe if she wasn't an envious, raging hormonal maniac, she wouldn't have been put into the hospital," I shot back with acid dripping from my voice. I wasn't going to bother with being friendly today after being manhandled by Gaara's bloody sand. I wasn't in the nicest of moods right now.

Kankuro sighed from behind but I said nothing more, chopping the vegetables up a little too violently. Several minutes clocked by before he said anything else. "You can cook?" He asked as I gathered all of the ingredients and dropped them into the large pot.

Shrugging my shoulders, I grunted. "Yeah? Why wouldn't I be able to cook?" I asked with a quirked eyebrow. I glanced over my shoulder at him, frowning as I started to stir the contents of the large pot. He honestly looked confused and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"Didn't your clan have, like, cooks and everything?"

"Yeah?"

Kankuro shot me a funny look but I simply shrugged. "I thought it would be fun when I was younger so I asked the cooks to teach me," I stated simply with no room to ask any more questions. I didn't question and prod at any of their past or their childhood so they shouldn't go snooping in mine. Kankuro must have caught the hint because he slumped at the table, a sign that he had given up on questioning me. The heat from the stove began to waft around me, causing me to break out into a light sweat. I absently wiped the sweat away and continued to cook.

"Do you like cooking?"

"Yes, it soothes me."

"Oh, that's good then."

"Ah? Why do you say that?"

I glanced at him and he seemed frozen, as if he realized he wasn't supposed to say anything like that at all. He glanced at me, probably to see if I was looking at him. He rolled his lips nervously once he realized that, yes, I was staring dead at him. "You just seem..." He trailed off, trying to think of a word that wouldn't offend me. I continued to stare at him, salting the stew without looking at it. "Frustrated," He finally said, eyes lighting up. "You seem frustrated with everything that's been going on. The engagement, the announcement, the kiss today, the jealous girls. It seems like it's frustrating you all so if cooking soothes you, that's good."

I nodded thoughtfully, lips pursed. "Nice save," I laughed and shook my head, turning back to the stew. I heard Kankuro let out a soft exhale of relief. An amused smile curled at my lips and I shook my head. Only seconds later, he was inhaling dramatically.

"It smells..." He paused with another inhale. "It smells really good."

I heard shuffling from the entrance of the kitchen. "What's that smell?"

Whipping my head around so hard that I almost broke my damn neck, I stared at Gaara with a surprised look. I really wasn't expecting him to come anywhere near me for the next couple of hours. He looked at the both of us, curiosity leaking out of his pretty eyes. "It's...uh..." I fumbled to speak like a normal person. "It's stew. It's just stew..." I managed to say with a slightly surprised look. Gaara nodded in thought. "It's...um...it's almost done," I said slowly, watching as Gaara nodded once more and sat down at the table with Kankuro.

Gaara and Kankuro were both cautious as I set the clay bowls down in front of them. I looked at the dishes and quietly noted that we would need better dishware. Honestly, clay bowls? Just like the damn clay buildings. And those God-forsaken sandy clay-colored flak jackets. Good God, those flak-jackets...

"What are you staring at?"

I shook the thoughts away immediately as Gaara's gravelly voice broke through. "These bowls..." I mumbled, slumping down in the chair across from the brothers. "They're..." I paused, fingering the rim of my stew-filled clay bowl. I had the odd feeling that Gaara knew exactly what I was thinking about. "Ah...nothing..." I grumbled, not in the mood to bicker with the redheaded fuck.

Meanwhile, Kankuro was inhaling the stew like his life depended on it. "If you choke, I'm going to watch you die," I rolled my eyes but he only glared at me from over the rim. "Your table manners are atrocious."

"You're a ray of sunshine, aren't you?"

I snapped my gaze back towards my future husband, glaring harshly. "Oh, oh yeah, cuz' obviously you're the fuckin' delight of this family. My ankle is bruised from your nasty ass sand, your murderous troll."

"Sure picked a winner, didn't we?" Kankuro said around a mouthful of stew. My head cocked, eyes rolling over towards him to show him I was not amused. "No fighting at the table. Isn't that what Temari would say if she were here?"

I slumped in my seat, swallowing down a gulp of the hot stew before replying. "I wish she was here right now. I prefer her out of the three of you," I confessed with a slight pout. Maybe it was because we were girls or maybe it was because Temari went out of her way to be civil, friendly even, to me. Unlike these two who either hated me or was randomly hostile towards me because of Hatsune.

They both ignored me in favor or devouring the stew. I huffed but relented, quietly eating my own bowl of stew after realizing that was the end of the conversation. I wasn't in the mood to start a new one, knowing the only outcome would be a spat between us. How had my life turned out like this? I feel like some prisoner. Well, maybe not a prisoner. But I do feel...trapped. Trapped in a false relationship that's going to eventually lead to a loveless and probably abusive marriage. Trapped in a house with three shinobi who obviously don't trust me.

And they shouldn't. Because if I was given the chance, I'd slit all of their throats with no questions asked. Vaguely, I felt myself beginning to tap the tabletop with my nails. Of course I didn't want to murder Temari because like I said, I did prefer her out of the three. But I'd have to kill her unless I wanted her to hunt me down later on.

I think I would make her death the quickest, less painful. A quick stab to the heart? Nah, she'd bleed out for a couple of minutes before succumbing to that wound. Then perhaps...oh I know. The quickest death would be to break her neck. There, quick and easy.

Kankuro...perhaps I would smother him. Simply because I wanted him to fight against me. He might seem bigger compared me but that meant nothing. I trained under Lady Tsunade for some time. I knew how to manipulate enough chakra to aid my strength. I would want him to realize he's powerless against a small woman such as myself.

And then...my husband to be. I think I would want him to be awake. Just so I could see those pretty eyes of his light up in cold fury. Cold fury because he agreed into letting a maniac like myself into his village. Fury because this would have never happened had he simply stood up to his council and told them no. Fury because his imminent death was his fault and his fault alone.

If I closed my eyes and blocked out the noises of those two knuckleheads eating, I could picture it all happening. Temari first because she would the quickest, Kankuro second, simply because he was second-born and he's neither more important nor less important than his siblings. And Gaara last, last because I would take my time with his death.

My mind was a twisted, twisted place. It was a dark paradise that no one needed to know about. My fingers tapped harder against the table as I smiled softly.

I continued to tap.

* * *

There was a tapping at my window. Not my bedroom window but the medic's office I now occupied during my shifts at the hospital. I ignored it in favor of the Genin currently seated on my examining table. He had to be around twelve and still had a lot of baby fat. He was nursing a wound courtesy of a Kunai lodged a little too deeply in his shoulder. His two teammates, a spiky headed boy and a twitchy girl, stood at the edge of the metal table. At the tapping, the twitchy girl seemed to twitch even more and I frowned in slight concern for her. What in the seven fucks was wrong with her? Her teammate was the one with the Kunai sticking out of his back like some cooked duck.

"Ah," I tapped my chin, eyebrows puckered. "Where's your Sensei?" I asked, ignoring the tapping at my window. Never-mind the fact that we were on the third floor. I noticed the spiky headed boy took on this nervous look that resembled the twitchy girl's expression. I sagged my shoulders and sighed heavily. "Your Sensei doesn't know you were practicing Kunai throwing," I accused them instead of asking. I didn't need to ask, why else would a Genin team be in here without their Sensei? They were doing this without their Sensei's supervision.

Idiots.

Sighing heavily and blowing at my bangs, I rounded the table and studied the damage. The Kunai wasn't too deep and it wouldn't be too hard to get out, which was good. There might be slight scarring though. But then again, whose fault would that be? I hooked my finger into the hoop of the knife and watched as the boy flinched. The girl bit her bottom lip and quickly hid her eyes behind her hands. I rolled my eyes, what type of kunoichi hid at the sight of a wound? She was going to be the first one to be killed on a mission.

I tightened my finger through the hole and suddenly yanked it out, quickly pressing my hand to the wound before he could leak all over my clean floor. I could feel the wound stitching itself closed under my palm. It wasn't long before the wound was completely closed. As I figured, there was a scar but it wasn't anything to worry about. I had a lot of scars and I actually liked them. They all had a story to tell. Now this little runt had a story to tell.

"There, all better, right?" I had to put up the front that I was this nice and sweet girl. So that, you know, everyone loved me and shit. And it made Gaara look like a good person and all. Can't forget about that. Slipping my hand into the crock of his elbow, I helped him off of the table. "So, hopefully you won't practice Kunai throwing anymore without your Sensei, eh?" I hummed pleasantly as I herded them towards the door. They squabbled and squawked out their 'thank yous' as I swept them out. I smiled at them sweetly, accepted their thanks and they were gone.

Twisting around with my hands on my hips, I crossed the room to the window. Slamming the window back, Jura nearly lost his Chakra control. I grabbed the sleeve of his shirt and yanked him in, stepping back as he fell to the floor in a heap. "Can I help you?"

He popped up with a frown. "What are you? On steroids?" He growled at me as he climbed to his feet. I ignored him, peeking out the window. The last thing I needed was for anyone to see this idiot climbing into my office window. Rumors would spark to life like wildfire. Jura brushed his bangs back from his eyes. "I just have a quick question," He stated simply. I squinted at him, head titled to the side. Who the hell sneaks into someone's office for a quick question? Well, he didn't sneak in here. I let him in. But who the fuck scales the side of a building for a question?

What a strange guy.

"Kay, so Hatsune. Yeah, she..." He paused in thought, rubbing his chin. "Yeah, I'm just gonna say it," He finally decided. "She said you're completely out of your fuckin' mind and that we need to keep you away from our Kazekage or you're going to kill him and suck his eyeballs out."

An awkward moment clocked by as I just stared at him, eyebrow quirked. "She thinks I'm going to suck his eyeballs out?"

"That's all you heard?"

"Well, no, but still...that's just...odd. Like, how would I even go about that? Suck his eyeballs out with what? With my mouth?" I tilted my head to the side with a twisted frown. Honestly, that's the best thing she could come up with? Why can't I just carve his eyes out?

"She says your broke her wrist."

"I can't believe she's saying all of this. Are you sure she didn't just dream all of this up? Do I seem like I'm out of my mind? I think I'm a perfectly normal citizen, don't you? Did you not just see me heal a little Genin? That's normal, no?"

His hand slid from his chin to the back of his neck, rubbing at it like some nervous fiend. "I wouldn't say you're out of your mind..." He trailed off and I cocked my head back with my eyebrow quirked. "You just seem a little...quirky."

"Quirky? Like a squirrel?"

"Nah, they're twitchier."

I felt myself nodding before pausing with a puckered face. Why the hell were we discussing squirrels? Waving the notion off, I blinked hard. "Look, I'm not crazy. She might have developed hostile feelings towards me simply because I was her specific caretaker forcing her on bed rest. She's a kunoichi, she's used to training, sparring, and having missions. She was developing cabin fever. It's normal. Her restless feelings simply warped my character into some insane woman, that's all. And she probably already disliked me since I'm marrying the man she's in love with."

Ha, even I believed myself for a second.

The doubt he was harboring towards me was beginning to fade. Who would doubt a trained medic's words? I only smiled and patted his arm. "It's alright, you know? I understand you were only worried for your sister. I would react the same way if either of my sisters told me some woman was insane and tortured her," I shrugged casually.

"You have sisters?"

"Mm. Two."

"What are they like?"

I paused, glancing back at him from the medical form I started to scribble on. "Why do you want to know?" I asked with honest curiosity. Just like when Temari or Kankuro tried to get to know me. They tried asking about my childhood, about my sisters, about my ranking. Why did they even care? I was a trophy wife to make their Kazekage look good. Who the hell cared about where I came from, who I am, why I'm the way I am? All that mattered is the fact that Gaara seemed more approachable with a friendly wife by his side.

Jura shrugged his shoulders, shoving his hands in his pockets. "No one really knows anythin' about you. We know your name, you're from Konoha, and you're eighteen. Basic stuff that the council has told us. Basic stuff that's easy to find out. What are your sisters like? How long did it take you to learn medical Justus? What's that weird tattoo on your arm stand for? We don't know anything about you. Don't you think that's weird?"

"_He's definitely going to be a problem."  
_

* * *

TeeBeMe: Kay. So, like, Naruto ended. Which kind of made me sad even though the last Arc really pissed me off because, hello, I've been watching and reading Naruto since I was in the fifth grade. I'm about to be twenty in July. That's a big ass chunk of my childhood/teen years. It's like when Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z ended all over again. I was beyond heartbroken. And then Naruto ended and I was like tf do I do with my life now?

Fairy Tail. That's what I do with my life now, lol. Although I'm not sure if I'd ever write fanfics for Fairy Tail. I freaked the fuck out when I started writing my Ouran fic. But, yeah, anyway, hope you guys liked this chapter. Things will start picking up soon. Bye now.


	5. The kids aren't alright

Perhaps I should just murder Jura.

"_You can't just murder an innocent person just because he asked a couple of questions about you." _

Well, that was true but he could be a hindrance in the near future if I just let him go off raising questions about me or Gaara. I didn't know much about the Suna villagers but I was certain they wouldn't take our blatant lying kindly. Hell, I knew I didn't appreciate lies and I was currently telling the lie of the fuckin' century.

"_You think your husband would react kindly if he found out you murdered one of his citizens?" _

I rolled my eyes, that was another good point, I suppose. If Jura turned up missing and found later in chopped up pieces in the middle of the desert, I probably would be the number one suspect. Especially since he seemed adamant on visiting me now that we were 'friends'.

"_Could you really murder him? Could you really murder a 'friend' of yours?" _

I have before, I reasoned.

"What?"

Nearly jumping out of my skin but skillfully playing it off, I turned to look at Gaara. "What?" I echoed after him, eyebrow quirked. He was squinting at me like he knew my inner thoughts. Like he knew I was guilty of the act I was thinking of committing.

"You said you have before," He told me, eyes searching mine. I wasn't going to tell him I was arguing with my inner self about killing one of his citizens. And I certainly wasn't going to tell him that the voice in my head was making really good points and I was currently losing to it. It wasn't a problem if you argued with the voice in your head. It was a problem when you started to lose to the voice in your head.

"Ah, I must have been thinking out loud," I admitted carefully. Well, it wasn't a lie. I did end up thinking out loud, he just didn't need to know what it was about. "It's nothing. I just realized something," I shrugged it off in order to avoid a conversation we didn't need to have. Gaara grunted, not really that interested. I shrugged it off, glad he wasn't too interested about what went on in my head. That would make an awkward ass conversation that I did not want to have. He grunted again and I glanced at him, curiosity leaking out of my eyes.

"The council wants to know if there is a specific wedding date you want."

I perked up with a wide grin. For once, they were giving me an option of something? Granted, it was about this God-forsaken wedding but it was better than not having a say at all, right? I paused, thinking of the upcoming months. "When I was a kid, I thought summer weddings were the best. Well. Back in Konoha, they were really popular. Flowers seemed to bloom brighter in the summer time than in the sprig time. The weather was always nice, of course, brides in Konoha didn't wear old fashioned wedding kimonos. They wore the more modern dresses, you know? They were beautiful."

Gaara was quiet and I figured he had tuned all the sappy bullshit out. "But I decided I was better off being a kunoichi versus being a wife," I looked towards him and realized he was still waiting on my answer, not my daydreams as a child.

"June 13th."

* * *

"Jura, you can't be in here."

"Why?"

"I'm trying to save someone's life and you keep asking questions."

"Err…my lady?"

"One second. Jura. Out. Now."

The large shinobi practically pouted as the tinier kunoichi ordered him out. Her face remained steely as she pointed to the door like he was some misbehaving mutt. He huffed immaturely and did as he was told, dragging his feet as he did.

Xin took a deep breath, shook her head and whipped around to face the prone figure lying on the table. Two older assistants flanked the sides of the table, hands pressed to the gaping hole in the abdomen of the figure to stop any more of the blood flow. She leaned over the figure, eyes finding the wide brown eyes staring back at her in panic. In the back of her head, she felt slight amazement that he was still awake and hadn't passed out yet. Although he had come pretty close when she managed to dislodge the weapon from his stomach.

They had rushed him in completely out of nowhere, stating she was the only one who could take care of him at such short notice. She scoffed at that. This man was teetering on the verge of death and none of the other medics wanted to use all of the Chakra it would take to heal him. Hence why they dumped him on her.

She pressed her hands to the gushing wound, frowning softly when blood seeped through her fingers and bathing her small hands in thick liquid. She threaded chakra to her hands, working to stitch the gaping wound close. "You're going to be okay," Xin uttered softly, eyes finding the panicked brown eyes once more. Xin repeated the phrase like it was a mantra, growing tired as the wound fed off of her Chakra in order to seal his body up. It was two hours later when the wound finally closed off that she was able to step away with a deep sigh.

The two assistants, that she forgot was even there, quickly made their way to her sides. "My lady?" they squawked nervously, noting the clear fatigue in her face. "Are you alright, my lady? My lady?" they kept asking her, pulling at her arms and hands.

She almost shook them off but thought better of it. "I'm fine," Xin uttered, easing out of their hands. "Just a little drained, don't worry," Xin smiled brightly to ease their nerves. They backed off slightly, sharing uneasy expressions as Xin took a deep breath.

The foreign woman leaned over the man on the table to see that he was still awake. "You sure are tough to stay awake through that whole process. Your lung was almost pierced, you know? It was three centimeters off. Now that would have been a process," Xin rambled as she ran her fingers over his repaired skin. "You probably would have passed out from that. A pierced lung? Have mercy. You were lucky," She smiled softly.

The shinobi took a shuddering breath before allowing a shaky smile across his face. "You're an angel, do you know that, my lady?"

"Oh, you have no idea."

Much to her surprise, Jura was lounging just outside the room. He was like some obedient puppy that just wanted to please their owner. Xin could only tilt her head. When the hell had she become his owner?

"Are you alright?" He asked, pushing off from the wall. She frowned, eyebrows drawing together. "You look exhausted," He pointed out, hand coming out to steady her as she swayed too far to the left. Xin stubbornly waved his outstretched hand off, shaking her head.

"I'm fine," She managed to get out in between a yawn. "It just drained me. I'll….I'm just going to…." Xin teetered to the side, nearly crashing to the floor. With his hand already stretched out, Jura easily caught onto the crock of her elbow.

He blanched almost immediately because the future wife of the Kazekage was completely and utterly unconscious. "Oh, holy shit," He grumbled as her head lulled backwards. He reached around with his other hand, supporting her head. "How the hell am I supposed to explain this?"

A good friend would obviously take her home. And he was her good friend. Well, he was trying to be her good friend. But she was proving to be quite difficult in accepting his friendship. Not that he could really blame her. She was someone important and if anyone started rumors about him constantly visiting her, it could destroy her reputation. It could even ruin her upcoming marriage.

But he couldn't just leave her. She clearly needed to go home. With a sigh and slump of his shoulders, he worked her into her arms and ventured to the front desk. The girl working the front desk was clearly surprised if the raise of her eyebrows was any indication. Before she could start thinking anything crazy, he quickly explained everything to her. She seemed disappointed that it was so innocent but agreed to let the head of the hospital know that Xin would be leaving for the day. "You weren't kiddin' when you said she hated your guts," Jura snorted to the prone woman as he made his way to the roofs. It would be so much easier to travel unnoticed.

In the few days he had been coming to the Hospital, he had gotten to know Xin. Well, bits and pieces of her. She was rather guarded but she wasn't as…docile as the council made her out to be. She was spunky, that's for sure. And animated. Everything she felt could easily be seen in her expressions. She even had a sarcastic streak.

The council made her out to be docile and quiet, offering soft smiles and compliments. She was humble and didn't boast about her skills at all. She was an all-around good girl. Which was strange because Konoha was known for the show-offs they produced. Konoha natives were loud, obnoxious, rambunctious and lovable in a way that you had to get used to.

Xin seemed to possess those traits. They just weren't as pronounced. She was more quirky and always had a look in her eyes that suggested she in on some joke that no one else was on. She seemed more like a sly vixen. She was sharp-tongued, that was for sure, with a dry wit. Jura wanted to be her friend. Despite the fact that she had suggested being friends, she seemed to be wary of the friendship. And he could understand, it would be different if he had been a girl. But he was not. He was a man. And usually men didn't want to be friends with attractive women just to be friends.

He knew that, she knew that. The village knew that. And the village would grow suspicious of their friendship. Despite that, there was just something about this woman. Something that didn't quite seem…right about her. And he wanted to know what it was.

Jura landed soundlessly in front of the manor the Sand Siblings dwelled in along with Xin. The shinobi frowned, was anyone even home? The Kazekage most likely was not, seeing as how he spent the day at the office. He wondered if his siblings were home. Grumbling to himself, he leaned Xin on his chest and struggled, slapping the door with his hand pathetically before slipping Xin back into place before she dropped to the ground. Seconds ticked by before he heard footsteps approaching the door.

The door was opened and Jura nearly shitted himself because good God, the Kazekage had answered. The fuckin' Kazekage was staring at him, at his fiancée, and then back to him with question drenched in his eyes. Oh God, here he was, with the Kazekage's fiancée out cold in his arms with the Kazekage, of all people, staring at him just waiting for an explanation.

"Uh…" Jura stuttered. Perhaps he should have just let the midget of a woman recover at the hospital. Ah, now that he thought about it, it wasn't a bad idea. People who needed to recover opted to recover at the hospital. Where she worked. Where she had just been. If Xin was awake, she would have snorted at his stupidity.

"She…she drained herself out at the hospital," He found himself sputtering out. "And I thought it would be a good idea to bring her back to recover," Jura explained quickly. The Kazekage's face hadn't changed as he studied his little love. Perhaps he was searching for anything that could be wrong with her. Bruises, scratches, blood. But there was nothing that showed she was physically harmed.

Sand suddenly swelled beneath Xin and she was lifted out of Jura's grasp. He almost scrambled to get her back but stopped himself. The sand dropped her into the stoic Kazekage's arms. He looked down at her and then glanced at Jura. It was horribly quiet for several seconds before he nodded his head in thanks before he stepped back and the door closed.

Jura released the breath he wasn't aware he was holding.

* * *

Jura was sure he was going to shit himself.

He had been summoned to the Kazekage's office the very next afternoon. And here he stood, in front of the Kazekage and his siblings. Xin was actually sitting on the arm of the Kazekage's chair, leaning her head on him as she snoozed away. Personally, it looked as if she had been propped there like some sort of doll.

"Mikawa," Temari smiled tightly. Jura looked towards the eldest of the siblings, slightly uneasy. He hadn't really seen her smile too much. Her smile at the moment was resembling a grimace when it should have been comforting. He stood up a little straighter, slightly afraid of the blonde. She glanced towards the slumbering woman before turning her strained smile back to him. "You brought Xin home yesterday afternoon?"

Jura rubbed the back of his neck, cursing himself for bringing that woman back to her home when he should have let her rest at the hospital. "That's right. She was healing this shinobi who had a huge hole in his stomach. There was blood everywhere. It was gross, you know? Wait. Oh yeah, she used a lot of Chakra and just passed out so I figured it would be best to bring her home."

Temari nodded slowly. Gaara, however, had not moved an inch. Jura was almost sure that if he had moved, Xin would have fallen off of her careful perch. Gaara glanced at the slumbering woman for a quick second before his eyes found Jura once more.

"Come on, you guys. I don't think Jura meant any harm when he brought her back home yesterday," Kankuro suddenly piped up, coming to the defense of his student's brother. He obviously knew him better than his siblings and he knew Jura had no ill-intentions.

"I understand that," Temari bit out stiffly, shooting a look at her younger brother that clearly told him to shut up. "That's not the problem. We know he didn't mean any harm by bringing her home, it was actually very kind of him. The problem is if anyone saw him bring her home. It's a little suspicious to see the fiancée of the Kazekage being brought home by another man in the middle of the day."

Jura only nodded. She had a good point and he couldn't deny that. He thoughtlessly watched as Xin leaned too far to the left. Gaara glanced at her before slipping his arm around her waist, keeping her in place as she continued to sleep. That girl slept like the dead, who could continue to sleep like that with a full on conversation going on around them? Plus sitting on the arm of the chair had to be uncomfortable.

"I'm almost positive no one saw anything. I traveled on top of the roofs. And I'm sure that if someone had actually seen, gossip would have already circulated by now. And I told the hospital staff what was going on. So if any rumors did start to spread, we could trace it back to the Hospital and right the wrong."

Temari mulled over his words, rubbing her temples. She had no idea a phony wedding could be this difficult to manage. "It's alright to be her friend, if that's what unsettles you," She suddenly said, catching the brunet off guard. "But you must be careful because she isn't just some kunoichi. Some things that might seem innocent can come off differently. You must remember that. And if your harbor any thoughts about her that aren't innocent, there will be consequences."

Jura slowly nodded, eyes roving back over to the sleeping woman. A soft smile crept across his lips as she snuggled into the top of the Kazekage's head. Her nose wrinkled as some of his hair tickled at her nose but she still continued to sleep.

"You are dismissed." Gaara's voice broke through.

* * *

_Xin's P.O.V_

I was rudely ripped out of my dream when my face suddenly hit the floor without any warning. I let out a surprised squawk, scrambling to sit up and see why the fuck my face was suddenly buddy-buddy with the goddamn floor. "What the fuck?" I growled when I noticed Gaara above me at his desk. When the fuck did I get to the Kage's office? And why the fuck was I on the floor? I huffed, running my fingers through my hair. "Did you….did you actually push me to the floor?" I asked slowly as I worked myself to sit on my knees. Gaara only paused in whatever the fuck had his attention to look down at me.

"Jura left so there was no need to be so close to you."

"Close to me? The fuck are you talking about?"

Temari suddenly leaned over the desk to look at me. "Oh, you're awake. Good afternoon," She hummed before coming around to stand over me. Instead of answering like a normal person, I found myself frowning in confusion. Temari reached down, helping me to my feet. She took a couple of minutes to explain why I was suddenly tossed to the floor like some broken toy. I rubbed the side of my face that broke my fall and glared angrily at Gaara. Not only was I disgusted at him for touching me so affectionately like that, my fuckin' face also hurt like a bitch.

"You're an asshole, you know that? There was no need to just drop me like that."

"Oh, what's the matter? Don't like being touched like that? And besides, you're not even hurt."

"Oh, yeah, because you know, my face broke my fall and all."

Temari folded her arms across her chest as she watched the two of us bicker relentlessly. Next to her, Kankuro shook his head in slight amusement. It really didn't take much for the two of us to start, now that I thought about it. And once we started, who knew when it would eventually end? We both liked having the last word.

"Personally, I think they're attracted to one another," Temari suddenly said, blonde brow quirked as the two of us continued to argue. Kankuro only looked at her, quietly telling her to elaborate her reasoning. "I think they're attracted to one another but dislike one another because they're being forced together. This is all just thick sexual tension."

"You really think so?"

"I think it's so tense we could cut it with a dull knife."

I'm pretty sure they were both planning their escape.

"Bed rest?"

I glared fiercely at Gaara right as his siblings quickly made their escape. Gaara regarded me blankly before finding the ceiling much more interesting. I rolled my eyes at his blatant dismissal and mused if I should slam his head into the desk. "You passed out at the Hospital, you exhausted yourself. The staff just wants to make sure you've gotten enough rest. Therefore, you have the day off," He explained slowly like I was some incapable child. I only continued to glare at him.

"But I don't want the day off."

"Guess who doesn't care?"

"Okay, you know what, you undeveloped little fuck-"

The door was suddenly thrown open without any caution. "Gaara-kun!" Matsuri practically danced through the opened doors. I turned around, looking at her like she was out of her mind. Who the fuck just walks into someone's office like that? I should be the one throwing the doors open and shouting his name like that, not her. Not that I would really do that. But let's just remember who the fuck his future wife is.

She paused instantly once she got a good look at me. "Oh! My lady…." She trailed off, her happy tone suddenly vanishing. Well, way to make me feel special. "I wasn't expecting you to be here. I heard that you would be recovering today from exhaustion."

I smiled tightly. "I'm fine, it's nothing I can't handle," I leaned against the desk, fingers curling around the edge of the desk. "And I thought I told you and Sari-Chan that calling me that wasn't necessary."

"Ah, we called you Hyuga-San back then."

"My Lady is the same as that. Calling me Xin is fine," I urged with that same smile. I wasn't sure why I was so insistent when it came to her calling me so formally. I didn't like her and I knew damn well she didn't like me. Maybe the thought of making her feel uncomfortable amused me.

Gaara must have felt the tense situation because he suddenly spoke up. "Is there something you need today, Matsuri?" He asked smoothly, pretty eyes darting back and forth between us. I smiled innocently, moving to sit on the edge of the desk. Matsuri's eyes zeroed in on my form and she frowned softly. Deciding today would be a nice day to be a bitch, I leaned back and slid my hand over Gaara's hand in what was supposed to be an affectionate gesture. I felt his hand tense under my hand but he didn't pull away.

The brunette frowned, wrinkling her forehead in a distasteful way. I bit my bottom lip so that I wouldn't grin like the conniving bitch I was currently being. "Ah, um, it's nothing. I was just…brining our mission report…" Matsuri mumbled dejectedly before approaching us. She stopped at the desk, sliding the report across the surface of the desk.

Sher performed a quick and stiff bow before turning tail and running off. I was still smiling even when the door closed and Gaara snatched his hand away. I tilted my head backwards to look at him, still smiling even when he glared at me. "You're unnecessary."

I puckered my lips innocently. "Now why would you say something like that? You're going to hurt my feelings saying things like that. Don't you think you should treat your wife better than that?"

"You're not my wife."

"More hurtful words."

Gaara shot another nasty look at me but I simply deflected it with a bright smile. "She doesn't like me, you know?" I suddenly stated with a casual shrug of my shoulders. I knew he wouldn't really care either way but I felt like I needed to say it out loud.

"Well, you do antagonize her every chance you get."

"It was only three times."

"Three times too many."

I placed my hands down on the desk and leaned back on my arm, supporting my meager weight. I wonder if we could have been friends if it hadn't been for the marriage. I think I could've gotten along with Gaara and Matsuri just fine had we met under different circumstances. I wouldn't have had to hide the friendship I had with Jura either.

But we didn't meet under different circumstances.

* * *

"I got lunch!"

Gaara glanced up at me before dropping his head back down into whatever he was reading. I rolled my eyes and huffed before crossing his office to stand at his desk. "Its break time," I stated before snatching the document from right under him. "So put this bullshit away and have lunch with me."

"I don't even like you."

"Yeah? Well, get the fuck over it and eat."

I set the take out bag down and gave him the no-nonsense look. It's not like I would go out of my way to eat with him any other time. But I didn't have any friends to spend my day off with so I figured why not annoy the hell out of my personal pain in the ass? He wasn't doing anything important at the moment. "Do you have to sit on my desk?

I looked up from my carton of shrimp fried rice and shrugged. "The couch is too far. I can't annoy you from all the way over there," I pointed out as I stabbed at my food with my chopsticks. "Clearly this is how we bond. It's our thing, you know? Annoying each other."

Gaara glanced at me with an exasperated look before digging through the bag. He pulled out a container and opened it, peeking it with a slightly surprised look. "You got salted tongue and gizzard?"

I paused in shoveling the food into my mouth, looking at him with a quirked eyebrow. "Yeah? You did say that's your favorite or something, right? Personally I think the shit is weird, like who the hell eats that? But if that's what you like then that's what I'll get."

He stared up at me with a strange look in his eyes. I returned his look with my mouth completely stuffed with rice and both of my eyebrows quirked. Swallowing it down, I tilted my head to the side. "You…didn't poison this, did you?"

I shot him a blank look, slumping my shoulders with the 'are you serious' look across my face. "If I wanted to kill you, I gurantee I wouldn't bother with poisoning you. That's boring, don't you think?"

"You've thought about killing me?"

"Every night before I go to sleep. It soothes me."

"I think about killing you as well."

"Do you now? Care to share?"

Gaara paused, choosing to stare at me. It was an odd conversation to have. What future married couple did you know would sit and talk about murdering each other over shrimp fried rice and salted tongue? None, because most couples were in love with one another. He shrugged casually. "I suffocate you sometimes. Or I crush you."

I huffed and swallowed down a mouthful of shrimp before shaking my head. "Oh, come on, that's so boring. You have to get creative. Like, okay, see, if I had control over that bloody sand like that, I'd totally grab someone around their ankles and their wrists and pull them apart. Like, rip the spinal cord from them or something. Ooh! Or I'd wrap their head in the sand and either slowly suffocate them until their mouth, eyesockets and ears are full of sand. Or maybe I'd crush their head. You know, stuff like that."

Gaara stared at me for a long time before slowly nodding as to silently commend me for my dark thoughts. I almost grinned, we were actually getting along. Almost like when we had been forced to sit in the kitchen and tell each other about ourselves. I'm pretty sure that had been the last time we actually had a civilized conversation.

"….Still hate you."

"Fuck off."

* * *

Shopping.

That's how I spent the rest of my day after Gaara had threatened to throw me out of the window. I had four big bags of new clothes waiting at the house for me, three bags of weaponry and five boxes of shoes. And now I was returning from grocery shopping with two large paper brown bags full to the brim with food. Gaara had thrown the pouch at my head and ordered me to just buy some groceries because we were running low but had said nothing about getting some extra things.

Humming quietly to myself, I noticed two figures slowly creeping up behind me. I continued to hum to myself, noting two more figures jumping from roof to roof over top of me. "Ah…" I mumbled lightly as the two figures suddenly came flying down, thudding against the sandy road right in front of me. The two behind me brought the rear up, successfully caging me in between them. "Sup?" I asked casually, crouching down to set my groceries to the side. I slowly eased up to my height, frowning when I realized their faces were completely concealed in black cloth. The only thing I could make out was their eyes.

One of the shrouded figures stepped forward, his vibrant green eyes standing out against the black mask. Huh, green eyes. That's a first. Maybe he wasn't from this village? But if that was the case, why was he here? And why the fuck was he following me?

He stepped closer to me but kept a safe distant. "You were chosen to be the Kage's wife," He stated simply, I could see his lips moving against the mask. It did a great job at muffling his voice. I'm sure I wouldn't have recognized it either way.

"Chosen? Well, no. He proposed to me, obviously. It was very beautiful, actually. You'll be in tears by the time I'm done telling you. My fiancé is fuckin' romantic, you know? I mean, once you get past the bloody sand and all. He tried to choke me with it when we first met, isn't that funny? Granted, I did try to break his leg first but oh…love is funny like that, don't you think?"

"I'm not as stupid as these foolish villagers."

I paused, quirking my eyebrow. "Well, that's not very nice. They're nice people, actually. You're very rude-and would you stop breathing down my neck?" I snapped at the figure who had come up to stand directly behind me. It didn't unnerve me like it should have. It just annoyed me with him breathing down my neck like that. "Anyway," I turned back to who I assumed was the leader.

"I don't buy any of this bullshit. I know what type of person your fiancé is and I know no one is capable of loving a monster like that," the leader spat out harshly. If his face hadn't been covered, I was sure he would have actually spat. Like how my Grandfather does after he's done insulting the living shit out of me.

"Oi, you watch your fuckin' mouth. He's your Kage whether he's a monster of not and he's protecting your sorry ass," I scowled at him. Not that I didn't agree with him, because Gaara was a fuckin' nightmare. But as his fiancée, I had to come to his defense to keep up our appearance of a loving couple.

"Protecting my sorry ass? Ha, like I need that."

"Oh, yeah, this is coming from the guy decked in black like a fuckin' lunatic. What're you so scared of?"

The leader snorted humorlessly. I rolled my eyes, I'm about two seconds away from breaking his fuckin' arm. "Not that this isn't fun, because believe me, I'm having a fuckin' ball right now. But as you can see, I need to get home. How the fuck do you expect me to prepare dinner when I'm stuck out here talking to your weird ass with your weird ass lackeys breathing down my damn neck?" I snapped again at the figure who had moved up behind me for the second time.

The leader rolled his eyes and then seemingly signaled something to his lackeys. I felt a heavy hand clamp down on my shoulder. Anger surged through me and my mind suddenly blanked out. I reached up to grab the hand and thrust my ass out to bump into him. I tugged on the hand, successfully pulling the man over my shoulder to land on his back. I kicked him right in his neck before twisting his arm until a loud crack echoed through the night.

The figure howled in agony, one hand clawing at his abused neck while his other hung limply in my grasp. I dropped it, tilting my head to the side while staring at the leader. I was one hundred percent sure he was scowling at me. "Anyone else?" I asked calmly, eyes flickering to the two remaining figures before finding the leader again. He chuckled softly to himself but I knew it was just a ruse. These people didn't know what type of person I was. They probably thought I was just some docile medic from a well-known clan.

Ha. Jokes on them.

The leader nodded to the others and suddenly backed away. "The fall is soon," He stated simply before throwing a smoke bomb. I rolled my eyes and held my arm up to my nose with one eye closed. I jumped to the left, ducking into a narrow alley until the smoke cleared away.

"The fall is soon," I grumbled while stepping back out into the open to grab my groceries. "Whatever the fuck that meant. Oh, oi! You left the guy with the broken arm!" I shouted to nothing as I took notice of the twitching shinobi still laying on the ground. Maybe I should just kill him now.

Or I could try to find out who he is. Nodding my head, I approached the twitching figure. "Aye. It's not that bad, stop twitching," I nudged him with my toe. He continued to twitch with an almost frantic look in his eye. "What the hell is wrong with…?" I paused as I nudged him again and took notice of an explosive tag stuck to his pant leg.

"Oh, fuck me."

* * *

The house shook.

Temari nearly fell but caught onto the doorway with. "What the hell?" She asked no one in particular. She looked around to make sure nothing had fallen out of place but nothing else happened. She could hear hurried footsteps coming down the upstairs hallway.

"Temari! What the hell was that? Is Xin playing with explosives?" Kankuro suddenly came down the stairs and into the hallway she was still standing in. Temari only looked up in question. "Didn't you see all that shit in her room? She had to have bought a thousand dollars' worth of weaponry today," Kankuro pointed out as he met her at the doorway.

"Xin isn't even here. She's supposed to be coming back now with food," Temari told him. "And Gaara is going to be pissed if he sees all that stuff she bought. He gave her the money to buy groceries, not weapons."

"And clothes."

"She bought clothes?"

"A lot of it."

The front door suddenly flew open, slamming against the wall with a loud thud. The two siblings whipped around to see who the hell had thrown their front door open so suddenly. But they didn't even have to see to know who it was. Heavy bloodlust washed over them. It almost reminded them of their younger brother. But it wasn't him. They knew who it was.

Xin suddenly came into view, covered in what seemed to be soot with her clothes hanging off of her in crispy rags and they could make out the faint smell of charred skin wafting from her. The bag of groceries in her arms seemed unaffected, if not a little roughed up. But still edible. She neared them with narrowed eyes, pausing in front of them with a blank look. "Uh…" Kankuro fumbled before stepping out of the way, pulling his sister along with him. The smaller woman said nothing, opting to go into the kitchen instead.

The smell of her burnt skin was twisting their stomachs but they said nothing as she began to calmly take out the contents of the slightly sizzling bag. Neither of them said anything as she fluttered about the kitchen as if she wasn't slightly sizzling.

Digging out his courage, Kankuro stepped into the kitchen. "Uh, Xin?" He called carefully, watching as her shoulders seemed to tense as the sound of her own name. She said nothing but she did shoot him a look. When she didn't jump to bite his head off, he took that as an opening to ask her what was on both his and Temari's minds.

"What the hell happened?"

The front door opened once more but no one turned to acknowledge it. "What smells like burnt flesh?" Gaara asked as he approached the kitchen. His older siblings turned to look at him, regarding him almost nervously.

"Your fiancée," Temari stated simply. Kankuro almost snorted at his sister's words but thought better of it. His back was turned to Xin and if she felt offended at his laughter, she'd probably bite out the back of his neck like some sort of rabid animal.

Gaara frowned at them and moved past them to step into the kitchen. Xin had gone back to putting the food away but paused once more when Gaara made his presence known. "What." She bit out of him with a scowl.

"What? You're asking me that when you're the one standing in the middle of the kitchen looking like a bomb went off into their face?"

"A bomb _did_ go off in my face, you annoying fuck."

"You're mad at me because a bomb went off in your face? Sounds like a personal problem."

"You bet your eyebrow-less ass I'm mad! This isn't a fuckin' personal problem, dipshit!" Xin finally exploded, throwing an apple at him. His sand came from seemingly nowhere, catching the airborne fruit and setting it down on the counter.

He heard Kankuro snort again and assumed he was laughing at all of her name calling. "You know," Xin suddenly began in a high-pitched voice. "I didn't mind tossing my old life out for this one nor did I mind having to deal with your weird ass fan girls and your obsessive little girlfriend. No, I don't mind that. Oh no, nooo!' But you know what I do mind? When weird fuckers try to kill me! If you think for one second that heads aren't going to start rolling, you've got another motherfuckin' thing coming!"

Gaara only stared at her she ranted with a slightly crazed look in her eyes. "What the _fuck_ are you even talking about?" He finally asked her with a blank look. She only cocked her head back before throwing an orange at him.

"What the fuck am I talking about?!" She practically screeched, her voice coming out in such a high tone, it made them shudder. "What do you think I'm talking about!? The fact that I'm covered in fuckin' soot! A fuckin' psycho brigade intent on fuckin' overthrowing you or some shit like that followed and attacked me! And they threw an explosive tag on one of their fuckin' lackeys that clearly went off in my face!"

"…Who told you to approach him?"

The question threw her off because she cocked her head back for the second time with her face screwed up. "Are you seriously implying that this is my fault? Never mind the fact that they _clearly_ want to kill you and only attacked me because of you, never mind that! Let's worry about why I approached him."

"Okay," Temari stepped in the kitchen, hands up in a soothing motion. "Everyone just calm down. Xin, you could be injured under all of that soot. Maybe it would be best to bathe and check for any injuries," She suggested in a soothing voice. Xin glanced at her, arm up to throw a grapefruit at Gaara. She dropped her arm slowly, eyes still light up in anger. Her anger was beginning to slowly cool and Temari assumed it would be best to talk calmly and in a soothing voice. She was like some injured animal with their teeth bared.

The small woman slammed the grapefruit down before storming out of the kitchen, making sure to rudely push past Gaara with a sneer. "If those psychos don't kill you first, I fuckin' will," She threatened with a scowl as she vanished down the hallway.

"Who's the real psycho in this situation?" Kankuro grumbled quietly as Temari quickly put away the rest of the food. She directed a look at him that clearly told him to shut up and now was not the time. "I can't believe she threw an apple at you," Kankuro chuckled as he came to his sister's aid in putting away the food.

"Anyway," Gaara rolled his eyes. "There's someone out there trying to kill me, apparently. Be more careful. And when you're not busy with missions or meetings, keep watch over Xin. She's too much of a loose cannon."

And was barely worth the trouble.

* * *

"God damn…." Xin grumbled as she stepped out of the shower. Her body was on fire after cleaning the soot out of the abrasions she received from hitting the ground after the explosion. There was one leaking gash on her back that she could not reach for the life of her. Growling, she set to work on healing the wounds she could easily reach. Her chakra was nearly spent when she was done with healing the wounds and soothing her aching muscles. She hadn't even fully recovered from using all her chakra on the man the day before.

Xin scowled harshly as she fixed her hair into a pathetic bun. Grabbing her towel and pressing it to her breasts, she left the bathroom in order to get to her room. She sifted through the many shopping bags before finally coming across a shirt that had a slouchy design that would completely leave her back bare. She carefully eased the shirt on and searched the room for her heavy medical kit. Finding it in the closet, she pulled out a wrap of bandages and left the bedroom. This time, she made her way downstairs in search of Temari.

Instead, she came across Gaara. Sighing heavily and ignoring the stab of pain at her back, she regarded him coolly. "Where's Temari?" She asked as calmly as she could. The redhead looked up from something she figured was from the office before looking back down. He was the complete opposite of Tsunade, she found herself thinking. Every time she came across him, he was working on something from the office. Whether it was some type of scroll, a mission report, a complaint or a letter from another village, Gaara always seemed busy with his Kage duties.

He didn't even bother to glance up at her. "She went with Kankuro to investigate the explosion to make sure no one was hurt."

"I was the one who was hurt, obviously."

"You're a kunoichi. You're fine. I meant civilians."

Xin groaned and ignored the urge to just strangle him. "Well, guess what that means? That means you're going to help dress my wound so I don't bleed out all over the place," She stated with a hand on her hip. Gaara finally did look up at her, eyes telling her that he would do no such thing.

"Aren't you a medic?" He asked dryly.

"Does it look like I can reach this?"

She turned to show him the long gash from the start of her shoulder diagonally down to the middle of her back. "Help me dress it so it doesn't get infected until tomorrow when I can go get some medical attention, alright?" Xin tossed the roll of bandages to him.

Gaara caught it with ease before looking down at it before looking back at her. "Don't tell me you've never dressed a wound…" She grumbled as she finally neared him. He only shrugged. It's not like his siblings had ever asked him to dress any of their wounds. "All you have to do is wrap it around my torso," She began to say before sitting in front of him. Without warning, she grabbed the neckline of her shirt and jerked it down to pool around her waist. "Okay, look, you start right here and then tightly wrap it around my body until…are you even listening? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Did she not realize that she was sitting in the middle of their living room with nothing to cover herself? All he had to do was turn her around and he would be able to clearly see her breasts. Or what if his siblings came back and saw her sitting so casually? What the fuck was wrong with her? Didn't she have some ounce of shame?

"Nothing is wrong with me. You're the one….never mind," He grumbled in annoyance as he pressed the bandage to just under her arm like she said. He began to wind the roll around her, careful not to come anywhere near touching her breasts. Sitting this close to him without anything to hide her revealed all the scars that littered her back and shoulders. It was the exact opposite of his skin. Thanks to his absolute shield, he hadn't received even the tiniest scar. But this small woman on the other hand was covered in scars.

Weren't women supposed to be smooth and supple beings? Her skin was still soft like it should have been. It was just riddled with soft scars. To some, it was probably unsightly. But surprisingly, it didn't bother him like it should have.

"The fall is soon," her soft voice broke through his strange thoughts. He didn't say anything, only pausing in his motions of wrapping around her torso. "That's what the leader said. The fall is soon. He knows our marriage is a sham. He said he knew you and no one could love a monster like you."

The two were quiet as he continued to wrap the bandages around her torso. "You've got enemies. We all do. People like _us _are bound to have them. But. Do something about yours because if I have to do something about them, nothing will get in my way. I will kill them. And I will kill anyone who gets in my way."

She didn't need to say anything else in order for him to understand the underlying threat.

_Anyone including you. _

* * *

Lol, shadow-ninja-captain69, yes that's an actual color. It's just a dark blue, I looked it up.

Akari: omg yeeeeeeeees. The fan service gives me life. I love seeing Gray and Natsu's awesomely drawn hot bodies. And Laxus. Laxus is fuckin' hot even though he really doesn't get that much screen time in the anime or manga. When he does, whoo, girl, I'm on fire. Lmao.

JThawN: I totally appreciate your critique. My writing isn't always perfect and I make mistakes but I have been trying to work on it and I hope it's getting better. Thank you for not saying fuck this story and sticking with it despite the flaws. You da real MVP, lol. Anyway, I'm glad you like Xin's character, she's sometimes not always liked for her foul-mouthed personality. So thanks for not only the critique but also telling me what you liked.

Panda-Chan: lol yes, the whole kissing thing was hilarious to me. Don't' worry about the short review, short or long, I appreciate it! And I'll have more Gaara/Xin fics coming soon. There's another one in the works…but I'll focus on this one first.

Anyway, I'm sorry if my updates seem kind of sporadic. I don't have plans on giving up on this story because I really like it and it doesn't seem to be getting as much hate as If I Knew was getting before it was seemingly reported and deleted. Boo. Hope you guys review, favorite and follow!


	6. Let me put on a show for you

"Why are you so upset with me?"

Gaara stared back at me with a blank expression on his face. My shoulders slumped dramatically and I rolled my eyes to the upper corner of my eye sockets. "How was I supposed to know she'd coming bursting in there like that? Doesn't she know how to knock?" I asked with a shrug of my shoulders. When he didn't say anything, I groaned childishly. "Oh, come on! It really wasn't my fault," I placed my hand on my hip while huffing. He still hadn't said anything and I huffed again. "I needed the damn gash to be wrapped!"

The reason Gaara was pissed at me _this _time was honestly not my fault. See, Gaara had been wrapping the bandages like I told him to _(he had to redo them twice, fuckin'_ _idiot)_ when the front door had slammed opened and Matsuri ran in screaming. She was screaming because for some reason, she figured Gaara had been hurt in that mini explosion. Honestly, if she thought with her goddamn brain for once, she would have realized if he had been caught in it, his sand would have protected him.

Apparently the fact that I was sitting topless with Gaara behind me tending to my wound really shocked the girl. Shocked her so much that she ended up passing out. And well, Gaara might have been a little irked because my initial reaction was to laugh instead of getting up to help her. But in my defense, who the fuck passes out just because another female is topless? Because, honestly, what was so bad about seeing my breasts? I mean, I'm not tooting my own horn or anything, but my breasts are nothing short of spectacular. Okay, sure, they aren't Tsunade's size but they're pretty nice. Well, at least I think so.

Matsuri ended up waking up five minutes after Gaara placed her on the couch to rest. By then, my wound was dressed and I pulled that shirt on so Gaara would shut the fuck up about it. The brunette spent exactly three minutes staring at my breasts before looking back down to her own breasts while doing this weird sort of wheezy-whine thing. So, honestly it really wasn't my fault that Matsuri spent all day today moping because my breasts were superior to hers. "You can't be mad at me because your girlfriend has some sort of weird complex about breasts."

"Stop….."

"Because I didn't ask to have this sort of size. Its genetics, actually."

"I really don't want to have this conversation."

"I don't see why she's so sad. Does she know I spend a fortunate on custom-made bras?"

"Since when do you ever wear…never mind, just shut up."

"She should be happy with her size. What she needs to worry about are her tiny hips."

"Do I even dare to ask why?"

"Childbirth is going to be a bitch. You need wider hips to accommodate the baby."

"I doubt she's thinking about having children any time soon."

"Five bucks says she's thought about having your kids already. Probably has the names picked out and everything."

"Perhaps…but you know…._you _showed up."

"Oh? You tellin' me you wanna have her kids? Well, be my guest then. Pop out as many demon spawns as your heart's content. Although with her nonexistent breasts, it'll probably be like fucking a twelve year old. Didn't know you were into that kind of thing, you sick fuck."

Gaara roughly massaged his temples. "What are we even talking about anymore?" He sighed out loud but I had a feeling he wasn't even looking for an answer. I simply shrugged my shoulder and leaned my ass against the edge of his desk.

"I don't see why you're so upset with me. Maybe you should introduce Matsuri to the art of knocking. It can come in handy, you know? Who knows what she might walk in on next time? I could be under your desk right now sucking you off."

"What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Isn't that something married couples do?"

Sand suddenly swirled up from nothing and flew at me, pinning me to the ceiling. I let out a squeak as I slammed into the ceiling. "Oh, come on! I was only making a point!" I shouted down at him with a glare. "I wouldn't actually do something like that!"

"Shut the hell up."

* * *

"What in the seven fucks are you staring at?"

Jura grunted, sitting up straight as Xin glared blankly at him. He coughed awkwardly and mumbled something incoherent. "Don't make me twist your arm behind your back," Xin threatened with an equally bland voice before looking back down at her medical report.

"Ah, um, Matsuri was complainin' to Hatsune and I overheard it."

"Yeah? And?"

Jura grunted for the second time and rubbed at the back of his neck. "She was comparing her breasts to yours and was saying you're in a league of your own."

"..."

Xin glanced at him before returning her gaze to the report. "Gaara was wrapping an injury and she walked in. It's not my fault," Xin insisted without looking up at him. Jura only quirked his eyebrow and tilted his head to the side in an attempt to get a better looking as her heaving chest. Sure, it was inappropriate for him to stare at her breasts. But the way Matsuri described them….well…he was just a man, after all.

"Someone's defensive."

"Gaara was a little upset that I reacted so nonchalantly, we've been bickering all morning," Xin shrugged casually, forgetting to mention that bickering was normal for them. Well, it's not like Jura needed to know either way. As far as he was concerned, they were like any other loving couple.

"Ah, trouble in paradise?"

"A relationship isn't always about kisses and smiles, you know."

The door suddenly slammed open, causing the two occupants to jump and look up. Hatsune stood in the doorway, lips puckered into a frown. Xin resisted the urge to roll her eyes but she did sigh in irritation. "Do any of you people know how to knock?"

"_You people_? You're racist."

"Really? Really, Jura?"

Hatsune cleared her throat. "Jura, what the hell are you doing in here?" She demanded, hands on her hips. Xin vaguely noted that Hatsune had slim hips and her bust size wasn't all that impressive. Bigger than Matsuri's but nowhere near her own size. Maybe she was being fed something different in Konoha. The only girl in her age group with small breasts was Sakura.

"Well, as you can clearly see, I'm having a conversation with the Kazekage's fiancée."

"I have a name, thank you."

Hatsune glared at Xin, squinting her murky eyes in warning. "I told you she was a dangerous woman. She's psychotic, Jura. I told you to stay away from her, she's a menace. We should be reporting her to the Kazekage."

Xin huffed, leaning her cheek against her knuckles. "Well, that was rude. I am sitting right here, you know. Honestly, is that how you show thanks to the person who took care of you? I can only imagine how your parents would react to all of this, I'm sure they raised you better. You know, in Konoha, we were taught common courtesy and respect."

"Respect? Common courtesy? As if! Everyone knows you Konoha ninja are just a bunch of idiots desperate for attention and hell-bent on proving they're better than everyone else."

Xin's eyes flashed and she suddenly stood up, throwing her chair back with a clatter. Jura looked at the two nervously before slowly standing. The atmosphere had gone from playful irritation to full on murderous intent. She wasn't glaring, in fact, her face seem eerily relaxed. Slowly, the corner of her lips pulled down and her eyebrow twitched. "If you speak about Konoha like that again, I will put you back into that hospital bed. And I'll make sure you need to be in that bed for more than a month."

Xin turned sharply and stormed out of her office without a backwards glance. The room was quiet as the Mikawa siblings stared at nothing with perplexed expressions. Finally after several minutes, Hatsune slowly turned to face her older brother.

"I told you she was crazy."

* * *

"Oi!"

Gaara glanced up as his doors opened and was surprised to see Uzumaki Naruto waltz into his office followed by Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke and….Xin? He tilted his head to the side and studied the fourth member of the team.

No, it wasn't Xin. This woman was softer and dressed more modestly. She was smiling softly and he knew that just couldn't be psychotic fiancée. The only time that she-demon ever smiled was right before insulting someone or before she spewed out a sentence full of curses. Naruto grinned at him as he rose to meet him. "We were traveling through Suna on a mission and decided to visit you and Xinny. She around?" the blond began to talk a mile per minute. Behind him, Sakura chided him to properly greet someone who was a higher rank but Gaara simply waved it off.

"If she hasn't wandered off again, she's probably on her way here now," He answered as the Uchiha snorted in wry humor.

"You let that little psychopath wander around your village unsupervised?"

"Sasuke-Kun! Xin is not a psychopath."

Sasuke only snorted as Sakura shook her head before shooting Xin's doppelganger an apologetic look. "Oh! Gaara-San, that reminds me. You actually haven't met her before but this is Xin's sister, Hinata. She's older than Xin by ten minutes, right Hinata?" Sakura suddenly smiled brightly while pushing the smaller woman in front of her.

"A-Ah, nice to meet you," Hinata tried not to stutter but her sister's fiancé was a little….intimidating. But Naruto seemed to like him and if he liked him, Gaara must have been a great person. "I-I hope my sister is getting along with everyone here. She has a bit of a temper…"

"A bit?" He mumbled under his breath. That's what they called 'a bit' of a temper? Uh, no. She didn't have a little temper. Her sister was a raging lunatic. "She's…..settling," He stated after a long pause. He actually didn't know if anyone in Konoha knew that their marriage was a political move. He'd have to either ask the lunatic herself or Temari.

And speak of the Devil and he shall appear. Or rather, she.

Xin only blinked as she stared at the small group gathered in the office. "Oh, God," She uttered quietly as they turned their attention on her. Naruto let out a bellow of happiness as he raced towards the small woman and trapped her in his larger arms, crushing her to his chest in a big, brotherly hug. "Naruto, please. Put me down. I can't breathe," Xin gurgled out past the mouthful of his obnoxiously orange jacket. He did so with a grin, setting her on her feet and making sure she would not` teeter over. She patted him on his chest before moving past him only to stop in front of Sasuke.

"Uchiha."

"Hyuga."

The two opposing clans members stared at one another before she rolled her eyes and shoved her way past him with a mumble of _'move the fuck outta my way, ass-face'. _Gaara almost snorted out loud, so she wasn't just verbally abusive towards him then. "Sakuraaaaa," Xin hummed before tugging on a lock of Sakura's cherry blossom pink hair. The fellow medic only smiled sweetly and hugged the more petite woman, mumbling that she missed her a lot and it wasn't the same at the Hospital without her.

And finally she made it to her sister. It was unnerving to see two of them in the same room, actually. Their hair was styled the same way for God's sakes. Although that's where the similarity seem to end. Their outfits, their stances and even the way they smiled was completely different. Xin regarded her sister blankly for a long moment. "Hinata!" She suddenly exclaimed much like Naruto before wrapping her slim arms around her. The older sister let out a softer, more feminine giggle and wrapped her arms around Xin's waist.

Gaara almost huffed. Why the hell couldn't he have gotten the nicer twin? Sure, she seemed more nervous and twitchy but she was also obviously more sweet, kind and feminine. But then again…he was sure the kinder sister wouldn't have been able to put up with him and his dark past. And besides, Naruto kept shooting her a certain look and he just knew. He just knew it never would have worked anyway. In some sort of twisted and sick way, he and Xin were made for one another. Of course, he had his blood lust under control due to his inner demon being more controlled now but he still was more ruthless than the average ninja.

And Xin...well…she was Xin.

"Is that a new scar, Xin?" Sakura suddenly took notice of the new scar marring Xin's back. The smaller woman frowned and remembered the scar she totally forgot about. Hinata's eyebrows knitted together in concern before she stepped around her sister to study the newest scar.

"Ah, yeah. A bomb went off into my face and I hit the ground kind of hard, I guess. Its fine."

"You let a bomb go off in your face? Heh. Rookie."

"Excuse you, you simple ass Jonin but aren't you supposed to be more respectful towards someone a higher rank than you?"

"You're not even a part of Konoha's ANBU team anymore."

"This tattoo says otherwise."

It was….entertaining to see her not so high-strung. She was completely at ease with the arrival of four people from her former village. She was smiling a little more easily and there was no hidden rage in her eyes that just screamed of murder and despair. Which one was the real Xin? Was it the psychotic one who threatened to disembowel innocent bystanders for breathing wrong? Or was it the grinning woman who for once, actually seemed like any other eighteen year old girl?

The foursome stayed a little while longer before Sakura decided that it was time to get a move on. Their mission was still six hours away and it was better to travel in the day time. Xin followed them to the door, hand intertwined with her sister's hand. "And make sure Hanabi stays up on her Juken. I know she thinks she's some master at it but I remember I kicked her little ass from here to the moon last time and I wasn't even taking it seriously. And tell Neji to slow down on the missions, yeah? I know he's taking too many, he should take Tenten on a date or something." Xin was rambling on and on.

"And you," Xin suddenly turned to Naruto, grabbing the front of his jacket and pulling him down to her height. "You better take Hina on a date as well, fox boy. She deserves it after all the bullshit your stupid ass put her through, you hear me?"

Gaara watched as Xin verbally assaulted Naruto. But the blond only grinned at her despite all the harsh words. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head in a brotherly fashion before letting her go so she could hug her sister and Sakura. Sasuke didn't get a hug, he simply got a friendly punch to the shoulder and the utterance of 'I still don't like you' in which she got a 'Likewise, you midget' in return.

The four ninjas left as soon as they came, leaving him alone with his bipolar fiancé. For a long time she stood at the door, not budging an inch until she no longer felt their Chakra signatures in the village. She didn't turn until she was sure she could feel them any longer.

"They don't know it's fake, you know?" She suddenly spoke, shattering the tense silence between them. With her back to him, he could clearly see the jagged scar. It was an eyesore and it made him wonder why she wore a shirt that would show it in the first place if it was already healed. "They think it's all real, that I'm really in love with you and that this marriage is legitimate. They believed it, they believed it all and didn't question anything," She paused, turning around to look at him. He could see just a trace of sadness in her eyes.

"Although...I'm starting to wonder if maybe they never really knew me well enough to tell when I'm faking or when I'm being truthful..."

* * *

_Xin's P.O.V_

When I opened the front door hours after leaving Gaara's office, I wasn't expecting to see Matsuri standing on the other side. I only quirked an eyebrow because, holy shit, she did know how to knock. What a fuckin' surprise. She shuffled nervously and kept her head bowed. "Matsuri? Are you here for Gaara?" I asked after the shuffling got a little too annoying. "Ah, he's not here though. It's still early so he's at the office still," I stated thoughtfully.

Matsuri only shook her head, ruffling her brown locks. "I know Gaara-Kun is still at the office," She stated stuffily. Something about the way she said that felt like it was supposed to be a smart-ass remark towards me. I guess because she thought I cared about another woman knowing my fiancé's work schedule.

Ha. No.

I only stared back at her. "If you know he's still at the office, why are you here?" I asked as kindly as I could. My temper and tolerance for this girl was slowly starting to run out. It's fine that she disliked me for snatching away the love of her life, I could totally understand. What I couldn't understand is why the fuck she was here at the moment trying to sound superior towards me.

"I...I just wanted to come to apologize about how I reacted the other day."

I blinked at her and felt an evil smile creeping across my face. Instead, I quickly wiped the smile away and tilted my head to the side to feign ignorance. "What about it?" I asked innocently. There was no harm in making her uncomfortable, ne? Besides, if I couldn't rip her arm off and beat her with it, how would I ever have fun with her?

"Ah...um..." She stuttered and fumbled over her words. "The other day when I came in and..."

"Oh! You mean the other day when you barged in without knocking and saw a very private matter between my fiancé and me?" I hummed, smiling icily. Yes, it wasn't very private since we had been sitting out in the open in the living room but still. "Oh ho ho..." I laughed behind my hand. "Don't worry about it! Its fine, it's fine. It's not like you saw something you weren't supposed to," I grinned widely. She blinked and laughed nervously. "We're both women," I started to pat at my chest, groping, cupping and making them bounce.

To anyone else, we might have seemed like girl friends. But I knew and I'm pretty sure she knew just as well that this was all to torture her. If I couldn't torture her physically, I might as well fuck with her the only way a female could fuck with another. Boasting and bragging about my superior body. "_She's taller than you__**," **_the voice in my head reminded me in a quiet voice.

I banished the voice away with a hiss of 'shut the hell up' before focusing back on Matsuri. She seemed horrified but couldn't tear her eyes away from chest. Internally, I was laughing my ass off. These girls were just too easy to rile up.

"What's going on?"

I dropped my hands immediately when Temari stepped into view. She was frowning in confusion, looking back and forth between us. I smiled innocently, folding my hands behind my back as I did so. "Matsuri was just coming over to apologize about a misunderstanding, yeah?" I looked back towards the baffled brunette.

"Um….that's right," Matsuri finally spat out, looking slightly disturbed. She bowed low to me suddenly. "Ah, forgive me for my rude behavior, my lady," She apologized formally. "Have a good evening!" She shrilly said before turning around and running off.

Temari only blinked in question, obviously thrown off. "What was that all about?" She asked after a long pause. I tore my eyes away from Matsuri's retreating form and tilted my head to the side with the same innocent smile.

"I told you. She was apologizing about a misunderstanding."

The blonde followed after me as I stepped back into the house. "But…you were groping your breasts…."

"No I wasn't."

"I saw you."

"You saw wrong."

Temari shot me a look but I only shrugged and continued to smile.

* * *

"Ah, it's Matsuri."

Jura grinned as he stepped out of the restaurant to see his sister's friend hurrying back. "Yo! Matsuri!" He called out with a wave. She jerked to a stop before turning to look at him, slightly surprised. Realizing that it was just Jura, she waved back. "Where you comin' from?" He asked as she approached him. Matsuri shuffled uncomfortably at the question, rubbing the back of her neck. A blush overtook her face and she rubbed her neck even harder in a comical way. "Oi, you'll rub your skin off if you rub any harder, jeez," Jura scolded her, reaching behind her to grab her wrist.

Matsuri only nodded at his words. "I was just coming from apologizing to Lady Xin," She said with a strange look across her face. Jura frowned, tilting his head to the side. Hearing someone as strange as Xin being referred to so formally was a little funny. "The other day I just ran into their home while she wasn't….ah…"

"Oh, yeah, I overheard that conversation," Jura laughed at that. "Can't believe she was just sitting in the middle of the living room without a shirt on. She's such a strange girl, wait till' I see her tomorrow…."

"You….are you friends with her, Jura?"

Jura paused, blinking in question. "Well, I guess you could call it that. She's kind of stubborn, really. But it's funny to hang around her. I mean she threatens me all the time but I take it as that's her way of playing with people."

"I really don't think she's playing."

Jura only shrugged. "She hasn't really done anything to hurt me at this point so why would she decide to take her threats seriously?"

"She put your sister in the hospital."

Jura paused, a thoughtful look on his face. "Well, they were sparring and Hatsune said she got carried away," He explained simply, this time only shrugging one of his shoulders. Matsuri stared back at him with a perplexed expression.

"That's no excuse!"

Jura blinked down at her, frowning. "It's not like I'm justifying anything but Hatsune is a kunoichi and she should know not to underestimate anyone or let her emotions get the best of her. Xin shouldn't have gone to the extent of fuckin' around with her organs and what not either. But what's done is done, right?"

Matsuri continued to frown, eyebrows puckered. "Do…do you think something is weird about her?" She asked in a quiet tone. She couldn't have been the only one to notice the strange foreigner. Sari kept chalking it off as jealous paranoia but Matsuri knew it couldn't be that.

Jura didn't say anything and Matsuri knew.

* * *

"Oi, Xin!"

Xin paused and in turn, jerked Gaara to a stop. The taller redhead grunted and looked down at her, trying hard not to rip his arm away from her. For someone so small, she had a lot of strength at her disposal. "Ah, Jura," Xin smiled and waved with her other hand as the older Mikawa sibling approached them. "And Hatsune as well?" She prompted once she noticed the younger Mikawa trailing behind Jura. "What a pleasant surprise," She hummed as they came to a stop in front of her and Gaara.

"Good afternoon, Lord Kazekage," the Mikawas greeted Gaara respectfully. Although Hatsune had a big but nervous smile spread across her face. Xin only quirked her eyebrow at her while Gaara returned their greeting politely. "Listen, Xin, I know this is random…." Jura began to say, rubbing the back of his neck. Xin didn't say anything, opting to frown in question. "Are you up for some sparring?" He suddenly asked, blurting it out in a quick burst.

"A-Ah? You want to spar? Right now?" Xin blinked owlishly before looking at Gaara. The redhead only looked back at her with a slightly disturbed expression. He wanted to spar with the woman who was responsible for confining his sister to the hospital? Jura only nodded, grinning widely. Xin noticed quietly that the grin seemed to twitch, almost nervously. Not like Hatsune's nervous grin. Hatsune's grin was nervous because of her attraction towards Gaara. Jura's grin reminded Xin of someone being threatened to do something they clearly didn't want to do.

"Um…." Her eyes trailed up to Gaara. After all, they were out on a stroll through the village. Of course, Temari forced the two out of their offices onto this stroll and it would be rude to just ditch him and the walk. Not that she really cared but still, you know, appearances and what not. "If you're okay with it," She said slowly to Gaara. The redhead simply shrugged, if Jura wanted to get his ass handed to him that was up to him. Not that he didn't think Jura could hold his own, he was a very fine ninja. But Xin seemed a little more ruthless and more willing to go all out, even if she was just sparring.

"Alright then."

* * *

_Xin's P.O.V_

You know, when I woke up this morning, I really wasn't planning on kicking Jura's ass. But shit happens, you know? Anyway, Jura led us to that arena where I first sparred with Hatsune. The two stood across from us, whispering God knows what to one another. "Don't do what you did to Hatsune," Gaara stood over me, warning me with a serious tone. I cocked my hip to the side and settled my hands on my hips. Hatsune and Jura continued to whisper to one another and I'm sure it had everything to do with me.

"I won't make any promises," I stated simply, watching the two knuckleheads. Maybe they were trying to come up with a plan of attack. I could only snort at that, well, A for effort. Gaara shot me an irked glare but I let it roll off my back. "What?" I rolled my eyes just as Jura was stepping out of the safety zone.

I followed his movements but was stopped by the sand coiling around my wrist. "Xin," Gaara said in a firm tone. I rolled my eyes and whipped around, surprising him. I grabbed him by his shoulder and leaned up on the tips of my toes. I stretched up to brush my lips across his lips in an attempt to get him to shut the hell up. However, I was caught off guard when he grabbed me by the chin, halting me from pulling away. I blinked up at him, eyes wide at being caught. "Xin…." He trailed off in that same tone. Despite my clear hatred for him, the tone of his deep and raspy voice was kind of a turn on. Especially saying my name like that.

Hold the fuck on. What the fuck?

Me? Turned on by him? Oh, God. No. I shifted, rubbing my thighs together before letting out a small wheezing sound. Holy shit. I was actually turned on. Oh my God. Ew. Nooooo. What the hell is going on here?

"Okay, okay. I get it," I managed to get out before wriggling and twisting my lips up. He squeezed harder, causing my lips to pucker. "What the fuck are you doing-?" I almost screamed when he grinned evilly and leaned down to mimic the kiss I had given him minutes ago. I tried hard not to rip my face away dramatically and succeeded slightly. He was staring down at me with a cocky smirk across his face. I said nothing, turning around to quickly get into the ring with Jura. The tall brunet looked at me strangely, eyes darting back and forth between Gaara and me.

I walked closer to him, my face morphing into a more confident expression. "You ready?" I asked confidently, cocking my head to the side with a smirk. I could deal with Gaara's weird ass later. Right now, I was in my comfort zone. Fighting.

"Don't think that just because you're cute I won't kick your ass," He stated boldly. My smirk dropped and was replaced with a more 'oh really?' kind of expression. He really thought he was going to win? Oh, now I'm definitely going to hand his ass to him on a silver platter.

Jura slipped a kunai out of his pouch, which kind of surprised me. I was expecting him to be a puppeteer like his sister. But obviously that was not the case. But I mean really, a kunai? That's it? Seems kind of boring. I thought of summoning my own weapon but thought better of it. This was just a friendly match so there was no need to summon the big ol' thing.

Jura suddenly took off at an unnaturally quick speed. I blanched at the speed but stood my ground as he quickly approached me. At the last second, he pushed off the ground to fly the rest of the way with the kunai poised to strike me in the middle of my face. I reached up and caught him by his wrist. Rolling backwards, I hit the ground and pressed my foot to his stomach, flinging him over me. I kept rolling to get back on my feet. I did two backflips and by the time he was standing to his feet, I was flipping over him. My feet clamped down on the sides of his head and I flung his backwards for a second time.

When I turned around to face him, Jura was glaring daggers at me. I could only grin back at him. "Am I hurting you?" I called out to him as he rotated his shoulder. Ah, must have landed on it. I was actually making an attempt not to seriously hurt him. Jura was moving again towards me and this time I let him get within range. He swiped the kunai at me wildly, which, admittedly, was a little hard to dodge. His strikes were all over the place and there were moments where I thought I would be slow to dodge.

Suddenly, I felt a burning sensation near my stomach and the smell of blood filled the air. I looked down briefly to see blood leaking out of a long wound in my stomach. Jura had actually landed a hit.

Oh hell no.

I felt rage bubbling up and before I could rationally control it, I pumped chakra into my fist and swung. I'm pretty sure I heard something in his face crack but I just didn't stop. I pumped more chakra into my foot and kicked him in his stomach, sending him flying backwards once more.

Definitely heard a crack then.

I raced after him as he staggered to his feet. Just as I was upon him, I jumped up and curled into a ball, somersaulting towards him. I forced both of my legs out, smashing the soles of my sandals _(they even had thick heels, ouch!)_ straight into his face. Landing in a crouch, I watched as Jura hit the ground for the umpteenth time but I wasn't finished. I sprang up from my crouch to race across the distance between us. Before I could get to him, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck suddenly stand.

Following my gut feeling, I twisted out of the way just in time to avoid being beheaded by Hatsune's freakish puppet. I felt my rage turn into excitement. They were trying to double team me? I almost started to cackle out loud. Oh, I was going to kick their asses.

I planted one foot on the ground firmly and swung my leg in a vicious roundhouse kick. The heel of my foot collided into the puppet's head, splintering it into a thousand pieces. Ah, Kankuro was going to be pissed when he found out I destroyed another one of his student's puppets.

Twisting around, I changed my route and charged Hatsune. She sputtered slightly in surprise, not expecting me to recover and react that quickly, and held her hands up to block me off from her face. I crouched slightly at the last second and attacked with my elbow, slamming it into her upper chest. Rolling my head to face her, I grinned widely. "You want some too?" I asked just loud enough for her to hear. Jura was still laying on the ground, hands grasping at his face. If this was a real battle, I would have already murdered him.

"_It's not a real battle," _the voice inside my head hissed at me. _"You stupid girl, control your lust before you do something you'll regret!" _it warned me with such a harsh bite to its tone, I actually hesitated and rolled its warning over in my head. I could end this sparring session before it got out of hand. I'm certain I just proved myself to be the better ninja. After all, I had taken Jura down with just a few flips and kicks. It was kind of disappointing, if I was being honest. There really was no need to even bother with Hatsune. I had already proved myself to be the superior kunoichi.

But still…she had attacked me when my back was turned.

Remembering that she had attacked me was all I needed to attack. The voice in my head was sighing heavily as I quickly approached the younger sibling. She was still laying on the ground, clawing at her throat in some sort of pathetic attempt to breathe. Ah…must have hit her in the sternum. Frowning down at her in disgust, I raised my leg high in the air. But of course, here comes Jura, ramming into my back with the grace of a damn elephant. I nearly fell on Hatsune but she managed to roll out of the way even though she was currently gagging and gaping like some stupid fish out of water.

I hit the ground and gritted my teeth when I literally felt dirt and sand press into my open and bleeding stomach wound. I had to get him off of me if I didn't want the wound to get infected. I bucked my hips, jerking him up so that I could elbow him in the face. I hit him three more times with my elbow before I could roll him off of me. There was blood on my shoulder, courtesy of his gushing nose.

I was barely on my feet when Hatsune tried to imitate her brother by tackling me. However, it was weak and she basically succeeded in head-butting me. Growling, I grabbed her by the sides of her head and literally threw her face-first into the ground. Her skull cracked loudly against the ground but I didn't even have time to see if she had brain-damage or anything since I ducked low to avoid Jura's dangerous kick. I rolled forward, pressed my leg to his chest and forced him to his back for what felt like the hundredth time.

I pushed myself up, using his chest as a step stool. I whirled optimistically around to face them to see Hatsune holding her face and Jura rolling onto his hands and knees. I knew he wanted to continue the fight but the voice in my head was against it. It was practically screaming at me, which I really didn't understand. Usually the voice in my head _(I could never decide if it was male or female)_ encouraged my sadistic behavior. One time it even had an orgasm. Which, in retrospect, is kind of weird because it's a disembodied voice in my head so how the fuck did it even….oh never mind.

Point is, the voice was screeching at me to fuckin' stop.

Dropping into a crouch, I roughly pushed at Hatsune's hand. She scowled and actually tried to bite me. I took a deep breath, resisted the urge to stomp her fuckin' face in, and yanked one of her hands away. "Move your hands so I can heal your…" I paused, not really sure about her injuries. "So I can heal you."

Hatsune's injuries weren't too bad. Which was kind of surprising seeing as how I literally threw her face into concrete. She had a lot of bruises from throwing her around and I could only imagine what Jura looked like. Her breaths came out in wheezing puffs and I was quick to soothe her lungs. Perhaps I hit her a little too hard in the chest.

When I finished with her, I turned to her brother. He was laying on his back once more and staring into the sky. I leaned over him, my hair brushing across his chest. "Maybe I should have warned you," I uttered quietly. I actually felt just a little guilty. Jura was a nice person, overly friendly, but nice. He probably didn't deserve to be thrown around but…

But I still had a strange feeling. Like there was some reason for this spar. I just couldn't understand why he would randomly want to spar like this. And it's ironic that his sister was accompanying him. It could be possible that they were trying to set me up. Setting me up for what, is the real question.

I healed all of his injuries, which consisted of bruises, a broken nose, a broken collarbone and a dislocated shoulder. Despite it all, he grinned up at me. "You are a dangerous woman, my lady," He managed to say as I popped his shoulder back into place. I soothed it with more of my Chakra to ease the ache. When I was finished healing him, I sent them home. Jura tried to protest, pointing out my own wound but I wasn't having any of it. I would be fine, I kept telling him. It wasn't that deep, it'll be taken care of.

Which is a fat ass lie because he stabbed the living shit out of me and I think I might just be fuckin' dying.

"You're bleeding."

I nearly jumped out of my skin because I had honestly forgotten Gaara was even there. "Wait, you let them double team me?" I asked, turning to stare at him. He could have easily stopped Hatsune from interfering. In fact, he would have been the one who saw the attack coming first. He saw that little psycho try to behead me and allowed it! I should kick him in his fuckin' face for that.

"Why didn't you warn me of their plan?" I asked, ignoring the fact that I was still bleeding. He only stared down at me. "Don't play stupid, Gaara. You seen her attack me, you knew they would double team me and you didn't stop it. Why? Did you want them to kill me?"

"What kind of husband would I be if I wanted them to kill my wife?"

Snorting, I placed one hand on my hip and rolled my eyes. I suddenly caught him staring at me intently. Or rather…..I followed his gaze and it landed on my wounded stomach. His gaze wasn't a concerned one. It seemed like he was in a trance as he stared at the river of blood streaming down my stomach and onto the sandy ground.I squinted hard at him and tilted my head to the side. Could it have been that he was simply too distracted by my blood? Perhaps he hadn't even noticed Hatsune spring into action. I glanced around the arena, noting the splatters of blood here and there. "You…" I began to say quietly. "You're getting off on seeing my blood, aren't you?"

"Don't be ridiculous, you midget."

I knew that jab at my height was supposed to be a distraction but I was not letting go of it that easily. "Oh no, I'm a lot of things, Gaara, believe me, _a lot_. But I am _not_ stupid. And I can see it in your eyes. You get the same look I do," I stepped closer until my chest was nearly brushing his.

"Do you miss it?" I asked quietly. "Do you miss murdering people? I know it's been awhile for you but you never quite forget, do you? It's as easy as learning how to throw a Kunai knife. Well, easy for you and I," I was smiling but it wasn't a reassuring smile. The smile reeked of sadism. "I know you miss it. I know you do because I miss it as well. I know it takes every ounce of your self-control not to go a murderous spree. I know, Gaara, I know."

It was quiet between us for several minutes. Suddenly I reached forward to grab his larger hand. "You know what? You know what I figure?" I asked in such a quiet tone, I'm sure he had to strain his hearing just to hear me. "I figure you and I would make a devastating team. This world could be ours, you know? If we spent our time wisely instead of always fighting."

Gaara stepped back from me, pulling his hand away. He looked at me with a disturbed expression. I continued to smile despite his obvious discomfort with the topic of conversation. Before I said anything else, he vanished in a swirl of sand.

I tilted my head back and laughed to the moon.

* * *

It was quiet between the Mikawa siblings as they made their way home. "Kankuro-Sensei is going to kill me," Hatsune whined over another ruined puppet. Kankuro had made that puppet for her birthday and it was already ruined by that pint-sized psycho.

"Who told you to jump in the middle of it?" Jura asked, hands folded behind his head. He was honestly surprised that his body didn't ache as much as it should have. But, he supposed it was all thanks to Xin's medical abilities. Christ, she had really did a number on him. And although he didn't want to admit it, he knew she wasn't even taking the sparring session seriously. She hadn't even been taking him seriously and she still kicked the living shit out of him. If anything was proven today, it was that Xin was a dangerous woman.

"She was going to kill you! I had to do something," Hatsune insisted with a shrill hiss. "She was tossing you around like some ragdoll! She broke your collarbone just by throwing you! And broke your nose! She was going to kill you."

It was a little embarrassing to have his ass handed to him by such a small woman. It didn't even matter that Hatsune was in the same boat as him. Here he was, one of the toughest shinobi in Suna getting his ass kicked by a woman that couldn't have been no taller than five foot two inches. Oh, God. His pride.

Hatsune suddenly stopped, prompting him to stop. "Do…do you believe something isn't right about her now? You've seen her threaten me and you've been a victim to her vicious ways. Now you have to believe that that woman is no good for Suna."

Jura sighed heavily, dropping his arms down to his sides. "Whether she's vicious or not, she is the Kazekage's fiancée. Lord Kazekage obviously loves her and that's all that should matter, don't you think?"

Hatsune stared at him long and hard. "You just met that woman."

"Hatsune…."

"Why are you defending her?"

"I'm not, sis."

"You don't have feelings for her….do you?"

"Didn't you just hear me say the Kazekage loves her?"

Hatsune glared at him, suspicion leaking off of her. "That doesn't mean you haven't gained any feelings for that little psycho. You spend an awful lot of time with her and you always defend her! It's like that woman can do no wrong in your eyes. You're in love with that psychotic midget!"

Jura roughly massaged his temples. "What the hell is wrong with you and Matsuri? I know you had feelings for him and I know she did too but that doesn't give you two the right to just assume she's a psychotic villain!"

"She tried to kill me! Twice! And you!"

"We were sparring! What did you think she was going to do? Twiddle her damn thumbs and knit us sweaters?"

"Why the hell would we need sweaters? We live in the middle of a desert, you moron!"

"It's a fuckin' expression!"

The siblings glared at one another before resuming their walk. "Look, I know you want to think she's a normal girl…but she's not. I see that and I know you see that. If you insist on hanging around her, please, just keep an eye out for her, alright?"

"…Alright, sis."

* * *

Xin's P.O.V

"What happened this time?"

Temari stood over me as I carefully cleaned out the wound. I had arrived only seconds ago, immediately going to my_ (our? Ew, that's weird)_ bedroom to clean up the gushing wound. I only glanced up at her before quickly looking back to the wound. "I was sparring with Jura and he got a lucky hit in."

The blonde blinked. You know, she had the strangest eyes. Well, I mean, they weren't the strangest. They were pretty, though. Her eyes were a cross between a dark green and a dark blue. What would one call that? Dark teal, maybe? Ah…how is that she has dark teal colored eyes, Gaara's eyes were cyan and Kankuro had boring black eyes? Strange…

"It's…pretty deep," She noted. Well, thank you so much, Captain Obvious. I ignored the urge to roll my eyes. I liked Temari the most and I thought it was important to at least stay on her good side. Kankuro constantly flip-flopped between liking me and hating me and Gaara…well….Gaara was probably severally disturbed right now.

If he thought he could hide his true colors from me, he was wrong. It took a psycho to know a psycho. And I knew that look when I saw it. That look just screamed out blood-lust. I know he wanted to cut me open and just watch my blood rain down from my stomach. Or tear me apart with his sand until the smell of my blood drenched him. After all, let's not forget the sole reason I was picked out to be his wife. Gaara could act like he didn't know but I knew he was aware. I knew he was aware that Konoha's council and Suna's council came to an agreement that we were both crazy murderers and no one would ever understand each other the way we could.

He could walk around this village acting like an upstanding Kage all he wanted. We both know what he really wanted. Well, I'm not saying he didn't want to be Kage, I'm sure he was quite proud of the feat. He was the youngest shinobi to be appointed Kage. But I knew his dark yearnings. I knew he missed the thrill of missions. I knew he missed hunting down his prey. I knew he missed capturing and listening to them beg and plead for their life. I knew he missed toying with them, promising they would be released if they just comply obediently only to savagely murder them in a macabre show.

Gaara had this whole village fooled. I had to give it to him, he really made these people believe that he was no longer the monster from two or three years ago. That it was all in the past. And they believed him, the idiots.

But I knew. I knew old habits die hard.

* * *

ArtemisKirara7: Ahhh, thank you so much for loving my little Xinny. Well, I'm not sure why either because personally I thought my other story was funny as hell, but you know, everyone has their different opinions. Yep, it was GaaraXin, I was honestly thinking of trying to rewrite it sometime in the future. I also like reading the stories where the OC is a kind heroine who wants to heal Gaara but I always wondered what it would be like if the OC was similar to Gaara and that's how Xinny came along, lol. I'm trying to slowly build up their relationship. They still hate one another and they might hate one another for quite some time before one of them cracks. Which one do you think will crack first?

JThawN: lol, Xin made Gaara swear in this chapter as well and I suppose Xin has a little less shame than the other girls, lol. Did you like that Matsuri witnessed a topless Xin? Ahhh, even after all this time, Xin's character sometimes makes me nervous because she so foul-mouthed, strong, aware of her sexual appearance and I'd like to think she's also independent. A lot of other Gaara OCs aren't always like that but they always seem well liked, not that there'a anything wrong with that. Ahh...welll Jura...I won't say anything that will ruin the plot but we will be finding out more about Xin's background thanks to him, I believe, unless I change my mind. Well, despite the lack of reviews, I'm really liking the story and the current feedback. Hopefully more people will come to like it like you have and the others.

ghosteyes101: Xin and Gaara being at each other's throat is quite funny, eh? I'm glad you think she's inspiring. If she wasn't such a psycho, she could probably be a good role model in staying true to yourself, lol. Thank you, hope you enjoyed this chapter!

DreamingofSweets: I'm glad you like Xin even though she isn't really all that nice and has no plans to ever tame Gaara. I'd think I would just die if I ever made Gaara fall for her so easily, he doesn't really understand the concept of love between a male and female, I don't think. Thank you! And yes, the chapter titles are all lines from songs! The title of this story 'Shades of Cool' is even a song. I have a strange habit of interlacing music with my stories, iunno, it's weird. I'm trying to update quicker, in the past I had a bad habit of updating sporadically and kind of out of nowhere. Thank you, I really try to work hard to make the chapters long!

Akari: Another update! Go me, right? lol. I think I love writing their bickering the most because of the clear hatred they have for each other, coming up with threats and curses are the funniest to me. It's like three in the morning when I write and I'm always just giggling like an insane person in front of the computer, lol. We will get to see more of Xin's background in the upcoming chapters, no worries there! She doesn't have the most..normal background. And there will be more awkwardness between Gaara and Xin as well. Omg I love Gajeel and Levy, they are like my second OTP. My first OTP is Natsu and Lucy, I ship them so hard like you don't even know. I'm a crazy Nalu and Gale (Gajeevy) fangirl. It's frightening, really.

Hopefully I'll be updating chapter seven just as quickly as this update, right? Hope you guys enjoyed it! Till next update!


	7. Heaven knows we belong way down below

There was...shouting.

At eight in the morning.

Temari sighed into her coffee, glancing at her youngest brother with a sour look. The redhead met her gaze with a confused look. "What?" Gaara asked after several seconds of her just staring at him with that same sour look. Temari only huffed and slumped back into her chair. Who in the world had enough energy to scream and shout at eight in the morning? She usually didn't even wake up to about nine.

"Oh my God, Kankuro, get out of my face."

"Are you for real right now, Xin? You're paying for repairs!"

"Fuck off, it wasn't even my fault!"

"You kicked its' head in!"

Temari let out a long sigh. "Get your fiancée," She grumbled from out the side of her mug. Gaara snorted and went back to his mug. Temari sighed again as the shouting seemed to just get louder and louder. How was it possible to have enough energy to scream so early in the morning? How was it humanely possible? It seemed like their shouting was getting louder and louder. And why wasn't Gaara even fazed? He just sat there, drinking his coffee.

"Kankuro, I swear to God..."

"I want my money!"

"I'm not giving you money!"

It wasn't until Xin screamed for Kankuro to _'lighten the fuck up'_ and something shattering for Temari to finally groan. "This is why we can't have nice things," She growled, slamming her coffee mug down. Gaara eyed it warily, wondering if it would shatter with how she was handling it. She stood up and turned to storm into the living room only to pause. Turning back around, she eyed her youngest brother with a dark look. Catching that look, Gaara let out a long sigh before getting up and following her into the living room.

The remnants of one of their tabletop lamps stood in a broken pile of sharp shards behind Kankuro. He was staring at Xin as if she was crazy while she simply glared back with her hands on her hips. "Did you really just throw a lamp at my head?"

"No, you ducked. I threw it at the wall."

Kankuro opened his mouth to continue their argument but stopped once he caught his siblings standing in the doorway of the living room with sour or blank looks. Xin turned once she saw Kankuro's attention had diverted. "Oh, Good morning," She greeted with a great big grin. Temari only looked at the pile of glass on the floor with a blank look.

"Why."

"Hm?"

"It's eight in the morning...just...just...why?" Temari heaved a heavy sigh, looking in between the two younger shinobi. Xin only huffed and folded her arms across her chest while Kankuro fixed her with a mean glare. They instantly began talking at once, trying to plead their case.

"She ruined another one of Hatsune's puppets!"

"Tough titties! Get over it! He's been harassing me ever since I came down here!"

Temari opened her mouth but stopped when she heard Gaara snort in humor. She whipped around, huffing at him. Now was not the time to find Xin's vulgar attitude amusing. Rolling her eyes, she twisted back around to glare at the two loudmouths. "Xin, stop deliberately destroying all of the puppets–"

Xin gaped offensively while Kankuro grinned.

"And stop whining, Kankuro. You have the tools to repair her puppet for her. Or, you should have taught her how to repair it herself."

Kankuro's grin instantly dropped while Xin let out a victory laugh. "I'll make breakfast~!" Xin sung out, skipping past them all to get into the kitchen. Gaara only shook his head, following after her to make sure she didn't poison their pancakes or something. Temari placed her hands on her hips with a scowl.

"Clean that up," She nodded to the pile of broken glass. Kankuro quickly tried to point out that he hadn't even been the one to throw it but Temari wasn't hearing it. She simply turned and stormed back into the kitchen to finish with her coffee and hopefully grab some non-poisoned pancakes before she had to start her rather stressful day.

* * *

"It just doesn't make sense!"

Sakura sighed heavily as Ino huffed and puffed next to her. She rubbed the back of her neck while Hinata hummed in a gesture that was supposed to show that she was listening to the platinum blonde. The blue-eyed beauty eyed her friends and huffed in annoyance. "Oh, come on! Hinata, you've had to wonder about all of this, right? Out of all of us, you're the closest to your own sister and you mean to tell me you had no idea she was harboring a secret relationship with the freakin' Kazekage?"

"Calm down, Ino–"

"He's the Kazekage for Christ's Sakes! How can you hide a relationship like that? You're saying no one noticed? It makes no sense," Ino whined, flailing her arms wildly. Sakura only sighed for the second time in five minutes before settling a calming hand on Ino's shoulder.

"Xin has always been a private person when it comes to how she's feeling towards a boy, you know that. Besides, it probably wouldn't have been a good idea to announce their relationship beforehand. He's the Kazekage and she's done a lot of..._things." _Sakura wasn't really sure about the type of missions Xin undertook before leaving for Suna. She knew they were more on the violent side and more than often Xin would return from her missions with splatters of blood on her ANBU uniform.

It was never her blood, though.

So she supposed Xin probably had a slew of enemies who were out searching for vengeance. Or, perhaps not. Maybe she eliminated anyone who would be looking for vengeance. Honestly, Sakura didn't put it past the girl. She was disturbed. Of course, none of them ever said anything about her obviously disturbed tendencies. Sure, she often threatened them but she never carried them out. Well, sometimes she would kick the living shit out of Naruto or Sasuke but that was about it.

"Not to mention he's really hot. I mean, not as hot as Sasuke-kun or anything," Ino pointedly ignored Sakura's glare. "But hot in like a dangerous sort of sense, you know? They're probably actually a good couple. You know, cuz' they're both totally out of their minds."

"Gaara-san seems really nice," Hinata finally spoke up. "They're not out of their minds, Ino," Hinata shot the blonde a reprimanding look. "They're just misunderstood is all. My sister is a good person, she's just a little violent. She needs someone like Gaara, someone who's turned their life around."

Sakura smiled softly.

"That still doesn't explain how the hell they've been together for so long!"

"...Shut up, Ino."

* * *

"No, fuck you, I'm not wearing red."

"I have a feeling you're going to tell me why while saying 'fuck' excessively."

I glared hatefully at my redheaded _(ha, ironic)_ pain in the ass. Apparently, there was some type of party being held in our honor. Temari might have said it was an engagement party but to be one hundred percent honest, I tuned everything out as soon as she mentioned that dumbass wedding. Anyway, obviously being a formal type of party, I had to wear a dress. Which is totally fine, because hello, I have the body of a Goddess. Okay, well, it wouldn't hurt to grow a couple more inches but still. I was pretty confident in my body.

Obviously red was the closest thing Gaara could call his favorite color so he had suggested that we wear red. Which would have been fine and everything if I wasn't as pale as fuckin' snow. It's been like three months, you'd think I'd get a tan living out in the middle of the goddamn desert. But no. Clearly the Sun God is being a little bitch and has forsaken me.

"Um, hello, you fuckin' dunce. Do you see how pale I am? I'm too fuckin' pale to wear red," I finally remembered to explain why I didn't want to wear red. I mean, I could probably wear a certain shade of red. But still. And aw, look at him, picking up on my speech patterns. How adorable.

"Who cares?" Gaara seemed positively bored. I rolled my eyes and contemplated throwing one of these heavy ass books at him. He had banned me from sitting on his desk, probably because he thought I would jump on him to either kiss or kill him. Instead of annoying him, I was trying to busy myself with picking through his bookshelf.

"Who cares?" I repeated in a shrill voice. "Everyone fuckin' cares, Gaara. This is fashion we're talking about. You're the one who no one cares about! I mean, sure, you're the Kazekage, whoop-de-fuckin-do! All you get is a tux with a matching tie to whatever I'm wearing. Face it, honey, you're just my accessory. You're like one of those midget dogs Ladies carry around on their arms," I waved my arms about before throwing myself onto the couch.

I'm sure that if Gaara could, he probably would have punched me by now. Hell, I would have punched me by the now. I was annoying as fuck when I wanted to be. But I was being serious. The way I presented myself was very important and if I showed up in a red dress looking washed out, I would be slapped with a bad reputation. And you know, marrying the Kazekage, you just couldn't have a bad reputation.

We stared at one another for a long time before I sat back. "How about just a black dress?" I offered after a long pause. I doubted he would agree to match with me if I wore any shade of purple. I suppose it just wasn't a masculine color.

"Fine, Temari will take you shopping this afternoon."

I reclined into the couch, not really caring. "Ah, this means we'll have to act like a couple," I suddenly said with a frown. Gaara glanced up at me from whatever he was reading and shot me a dirty look. "Whaaat?" I whined. "It does, doesn't it? Do you even know how to dance? We'll probably have to dance or something since its formal, right?"

Gaara gave me a very blank look. I groaned again and slapped my forehead. "Stand up," I ordered, pushing myself to my feet. He cocked his head back like I was crazy. "Would you stand the hell up so I can show you how to dance?"

Gaara finally stood up, although he made a show about it. I only rolled my eyes and waited until he stood over me. Huh, he was pretty damn tall. Probably as tall as Naruto, which was saying something because that knucklehead had a random and freakish growth spurt that made him tower over everyone. Or maybe it just seemed that way because of my meager height.

"Alright, you put this hand here," I grabbed his hand and yanked it around me to settle on the small of my back. He made a face but I ignored him. "I put my hand on your shoulder like this," I clamped my hand down on his shoulder. "And we hold hands with our free hands," I threaded my smaller fingers through his and held our intertwined hands up.

"Now, you're supposed to lead since you're the guy, alright?" I ordered him. Gaara only nodded and we slowly but surely began to dance in a safe square. This carried on for twenty minutes with me urging him not to look at his feet, or be more poised, hold your head up high and so on and so forth.

"Personally, I think an engagement party should be a small thing but I guess since you're the Kazekage it has to be a big celebration, eh?" I asked after several more minutes of us just dancing in a square. He only rolled his eyes and shrugged.

"It was the council's idea. I didn't know you had to have an engagement party to begin with," He confessed to me. I snorted in humor, twisting my lips up in an amused grin. This guy was completely clueless, it seemed. Perhaps if I didn't hate him as much as I did, I would have found it kind of cute.

"They have too much say, you know? The least they could do is give us some room to make some decisions. I mean, come on, I really didn't want to wear a wedding kimono. Do you know how hot I'm going to be? I'm going to sweat all that makeup off before we can say our vows. Holy shit, are we supposed to write our own vows?"

"If we wrote our own vows, I have a feeling yours would be full of 'fucks' and mine would be full of 'why did I agree to this, what was I thinking?' So no, I don't think we're writing our own vows," Gaara snorted while staring out the window. I actually laughed at that but nodded nonetheless. It was quiet for several minutes before he opened his mouth once more. "You didn't want to wear a kimono?" He asked so quietly, I could barely hear him. I only shrugged at the question.

"I mean, I probably would have been forced to wear one even if I was getting married in Konoha. By my parents, you know? But I always thought modern dresses were prettier. But you know, whatever the council says goes, I guess."

Gaara hummed in what I believed to be boredom. Who the hell cared about pretty wedding dresses? Certainly not a man who didn't even want to marry me.

No, certainly not.

* * *

"Xin, are you almost ready?"

The door opened and Xin stuck her head. "I said I'd be ready in five minutes," She reminded Kankuro with a huff before jerking back into the room to slam the door shut in his face. Kankuro sighed heavy, massaging his temples.

"You said that an hour ago!"

"I'll be ready in five minutes!"

Kankuro stomped down the stairs, huffing as he did so. Why the hell had he been chosen to go check on the brat anyway? He wasn't marrying her. This wasn't their engagement party/ball. But somehow, some way, he had been forced to check on Xin's progress. What the hell was taking her so long? For what he saw, her dress was barely a dress. And she never did anything with her hair other than tying it up in braided ponytails. Whatever the hell she was doing up in that room should not take that long.

"Well?" Temari asked, fixing her ears up with earrings. She turned around in a swish of lavender satin before her dress settled against her legs. "Is Xin almost ready? It really won't make a good impression if she's late to her own engagement party. I think half of Suna is attending."

"She said five more minutes."

Temari sighed, careful not to run her hands through her careful pressed hair. "Alright, Kankuro and I will go now just in case. Gaara, make sure you both get there in one piece, okay? And smile. Act like you're in love, yeah?"

She didn't give either of her brothers a chance to answer. She simply grabbed Kankuro by the cuff of his suit jacket and yanked him out the front door. Gaara tried not to slump in the suit Temari had forced him into.

But honestly, what was taking that she-demon so long?

Above him, he could hear her shifting around and singing. Which was weird. Because she didn't really seem like the type to sing. You know, cause she was an evil monster. But even so, she was singing. It wasn't horrible, he supposed. It wasn't spectacular either. Finally he heard the bedroom door swing open. He could hear her soft footsteps and then suddenly she was coming down the stairs. He glanced at the clock in the living room and guessed he had about ten to maybe fifteen minutes to get her ass over to the party before the guests became restless.

But then he saw her and well...he was just caught off guard. The woman in front of him was not the woman who hours ago screamed at him to fuck off. This woman...he didn't know who the fuck this woman was but she was not Hyuga Xin. She was not that evil little woman who was annoying as fuck.

This woman...this woman's hair was combed completely to the side to sit over one shoulder, bangs and all pinned away from her face. She had done her face up to look rather...sharp and intimidating even, with dark lips to go along with the fierce look. The dress was tiny, like Kankuro had said. Tiny and black, as black as her heart, she had joked. Although, Gaara didn't doubt it. It was strapless and sleeveless and cut diagonally across her thighs. However, to keep it off the skankish side, it had a lace overlay with a high Cheongsam-like collar. The overlay stopped some inches below the bottom of the dress, giving her some sort of modesty.

She tilted her head to the side, causing the white dangling ears to knock against the side of her head and into her hair. "What?" She asked, one hand on her hip. If he had been anyone else, he probably would have sputtered out some bullshit right now about how fantastic she looked.

But, the thing was, he wasn't just anyone.

"We're going to be late."

Yeah, that's good.

Perhaps she had been expecting him to say something different because her lips twisted up in a pout. If she was upset, she didn't say anything about it, opting to slide in her white heels that still didn't do much for her height. "Alright, give me your arm," Xin sighed heavily, holding one hand up. The other was grasping a white purse with a thin chain. He wondered blankly why on Earth she would need it. What could she possibly have in there? Weapons? Ah...he didn't doubt it.

"Promise you won't break it."

Xin gave him the 'are you shitting me?' look. But he wasn't budging. That woman was dangerous whether he wanted to admit it or not. Sighing and then scoffing, she relented. "Oh my God, I won't break your arm now fork it over before I tear your leg off and beat you with it!"

"..."

* * *

"You're squeezing too hard on my shoulder."

"Your hand is too low."

"No, it's not."

"It's like, two centimeters from my ass."

Gaara sighed and purposely twirled her away just to get a moment of silence. But she was twirling herself right back in his arms seconds later. So far, the party engagement/ball had been going just fine. The guests had been in complete and utter awe when they finally arrived. He hadn't been the only one to notice Xin's getup, apparently. He was sure that if she wasn't engaged, the other males would be all over her. He could see it in their eyes. And it was a little strange to see other men so attracted to her, she was a nightmare.

But they weren't supposed to know that. They were supposed to think she was some warmhearted, sinfully attractive kunoichi from a foreign village. Too bad she was a raging lunatic.

"My God, how long is this song?"

"We have been dancing for a long time."

"Right? You think anyone will notice if I murder one of the band members?"

"If you're quick enough, no. Don't get any blood on this pretty dress of yours."

"Think my dress is pretty, yeah?"

"The dress is. You, on the other hand, you look like a monster."

Xin only let an amused smile grace her lips and puffed out a quiet 'whatever' just as the music stopped. Both of them sighed at them, stepping away from one another but still stood within distance. His hand looped around her waist after she bashfully curtsied. Alright, now that the stupid dance of the evening was out of the way, they could get on to more important matters.

Like sake.

"No," Gaara deadpanned, pulling her away from the refreshments. Specifically, the sake. The little woman only huffed but allowed herself to be dragged away so that they could mingle. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and scoff. Like she'd want to go out of her way to talk to the very farts who were responsible for this fake ass marriage. But Gaara was deaf to her woes. Or maybe he just didn't care. She was leaning towards him not caring.

So, she put on the show of her life. She mingled, smiled, got to know and even danced with some of the guests. Somehow, she was even able to snag some sake. She and Jura downed three cups of the alcoholic beverage before Temari found them and slapped the cups out of their hands with an evil look about her.

Party pooper.

The party was drawing to a close when Xin stumbled upon the roof. Well, she had been looking for a place to hide out and ended up at the staircase that led to the roof. The door had been closed and locked but she was able to get past it by kicking the door down. Or, if anyone caught her and questioned her about it, it was already like that.

"Ahhh..." She let out a long breath as she leaned against the iron railing and watched the moon. "I talk to you too much," Xin hummed, staring at the moon. "You know all of my secrets and you've seen all I've done in the dark, yeah?" She dipped her head down, sighing softly. She pressed her forehead against the railing, thinking cloudy thoughts of her past.

"Xin?"

She almost groaned, because God damn it, couldn't she just get ten minutes to herself? Just ten minutes to cry and whine to the Moon without being judged? Wasn't it enough that she's done what they wanted? Could she not have just ten minutes to herself? Xin straightened up and turned with a smile. "Temari, what's up?" She asked pleasantly. No, of course she couldn't have ten minutes to herself. It was too much to ask for, she supposed. But she smiled anyway because what the hell else could she do?

"Are you alright? You seem–" the blonde was cut off as Xin suddenly scrambled to the left. Sputtering, three kunai landed where Xin had been standing, embedded into the ground with such force. A hooded man appeared seemingly out of nowhere. But Xin was ready. She scrambled to the side but recovered quickly by rolling back to her feet to charge the attacker.

She tackled the man dressed in black, nearly toppling into Temari. The blonde dodged backwards, nearly slipping down the stairs but caught onto the railing. "Xin!" She shouted as she scrambled to right herself. She could hear something sizzling. Her eyes found the first kunai knives that had been thrown and cursed.

Explosive tags.

* * *

"Where do you think she went?"

By now, most of the party goers had gone home for the evening. The formal engagement party had been a success thanks to Gaara and Xin willingly acting like the couple they were supposed to be. Hopefully the villagers who had still been on the fence about the marriage had completely jumped to their side and accepted it.

Now they were just waiting for Temari to return with Xin. Once the two females returned from wherever Xin had vanished off to, they could all return home for the night. Although...that didn't explain why Jura insisted on staying. He was a fine shinobi, Gaara figured. He didn't know him too well but he did know he completed his missions with little to no trouble. He seemed like a friendly guy and always willing to help out anyone who needed it. He was a good citizen.

But what Gaara couldn't understand about the shinobi was his unhealthy obsession with her bride to be. And it didn't necessarily bother him that Jura liked hanging around the young woman–it was great that she had another friend to possibly threaten and abuse verbally. But Temari seemed a little bothered by it. And his sister had this odd thing of never shutting up about something that worried her.

"She probably went to go get some air," Kankuro shrugged, really not that concerned about the little woman. Well, at the moment, anyway. He simply had his moments whether he liked her or not. And it was quite possible that he didn't like her at the moment. And no, it had nothing to do with Hatsune's ruined puppet.

Honest.

"Maybe she got drunk and fell over the railing," Jura joked, leaning against the wall closest to the exit. Maybe he was just a little sore that Xin could out drink him. But who the hell figured a midget whose only about five foot two would even have a strong tolerance for alcohol? Her big ass head probably made up most of her body weight. She had simply replied that it was due to her missions. Whatever the hell that meant.

"What are you even still doing here?" Kankuro asked, ignoring the quip about Xin falling over the railing. If that woman could survive an explosive tag going off directly in her face, he doubted falling over a railing could actually kill her. Heh. If only...

Jura only shrugged one shoulder. "Thought I'd be respectful and bid the Lady goodnight," He stated simply. "You know, in like, a completely and utterly platonic way. Friends do that, you know," Jura added quickly, eyes darting nervously to the Kazekage.

Gaara didn't say anything in reply, eyes trained on the ceiling. He could feel Xin's chakra fluctuating, Temari's chakra was spiking nervously and then there was...another one? He didn't recognize the third Chakra and began to wonder what the hell was going on above their heads. There was a strange noise and suddenly an explosion. The ceiling suddenly came raining down and with it, three figures. Xin, Temari and a masked figure. Kankuro and Jura panicked, diving to catch Temari who was falling closest to them.

Xin, however, landed on top of the figure with a grunt. The two were in the middle of fighting, not even stopping as debris came raining down. Gaara reacted quick enough, shielding Xin's form with sand while Kankuro and Jura scrambled to get out of the way with Temari.

Xin let out a shocked yelp when she was suddenly shoved off of the figure. Forgetting where she was, Xin got right up and took off after the retreating figure. Jura called out to her–she just fell through the ceiling for Christ sakes, she could be hurt!

But she was already gone, vanishing into the night.

"Um...what the hell just happened?"

* * *

Xin returned only twenty minutes later. She seemed fine. Well, as fine as Xin could get. She was missing a shoe, her purse was gone, and there was a new ragged slit in the side of her dress that nearly ran the entire length of her body. And oh, there was that nasty head wound that was just dripping blood down the side of her face.

But she was sporting a smile because she was dragging her attacker behind her with ease. He was shouting muffled profanities at her but the insults bounced off of her back as she carelessly dragged him by the ankle. She had ripped a piece of cloth from his shirt and wrapped it around his mouth and was whistling a soft tune as she came back to the ruined ball. "Ah, knew you'd still be here," She greeted them cheerfully as she stopped in front of Gaara.

He eyed her warily, grabbing her by the jaw and forcing her head to the side. "Why haven't you healed this yet?" He asked with nothing but curiosity leaking out of his eyes. He really wasn't worried for her well-being. Simply curious as to why she would allow it to bleed all over her face when she could have easily healed it.

"Ah? Oh. I actually didn't even realize it was that bad. My face is kind of numb, you know?"

Gaara blinked at her. "No...I don't know."

Xin blinked back at him. "Is the world spinning right now? Are you tilting everything? Cuz' I'm not..." She rambled off in a light tone. Temari stepped forward but there was nothing she could do when Xin's eyes rolled to the back of her head. Gaara let go of her jaw briefly to situation his hands around her upper arms, keeping her from falling backwards onto the struggling figure.

Kankuro grabbed the wannabe assassin before he could take off when Xin's grip on his ankle faltered. "Well, this was fun..." Jura suddenly spoke up. Really, they were standing in front of a ruined building with an unconscious midget, a struggling would-be assassin, all dressed up in their finest clothes.

Yep. Fun.

"Right," Temari said slowly as she tried to wrap her brain around what just happened. "Gaara...perhaps you should take Xin home. Or to the hospital. The three of us–well, actually Jura, perhaps you should go home. Kankuro and I will take care of..." She looked down at the pissed off figure in black. "Him."

Of course, Gaara would have preferred to go along and question the man in black. But...seeing as how Jura was standing right there...he probably should be the concerned fiancé of the unconscious woman whose head was lolling back sloppily. He shifted her around in his arms until his hands slipped securely under the back of her knees and her back. Her head wasn't gushing out as much blood but it was still alarming to see the wound leaking. Jura was eying her warily and Gaara almost asked what the problem was.

Almost.

With some reassuring words from Temari, Gaara departed first. He figured that with the wound gushing like it was, the best choice would be to take Xin to the hospital. Perhaps if her head wasn't squirting blood every two seconds, he would have just taken her home to slap a band aid over it until she woke up to take care of it.

The woman was more trouble than she was worth.

* * *

_Xin's P.O.V_

So I woke up in the middle of medics standing over me trying to figure out where the fuck the wound was located. And well, I kind of panicked. I simply wasn't expecting be poked and prodded at. I mean, honestly, what was so hard about finding the hole in my head and healing it? In my slightly panicked state, I punched one of the medics. And I may or may not have dislocated his jaw. Which, in my opinion, was better than having a broken jaw. Anyway, that medic stumbled away and suddenly Gaara came into my view, looking less than pleased.

"Was that even necessary?"

"I panicked."

Gaara shook his head at my violent reaction. "I didn't pass out from this head wound, you know," I stated after a moment of silence. As if a hole in my face could knock me out. The redhead glanced at me, attention caught. "That idiot sprayed something in my face. I guess it was knockout gas. Obviously it wasn't that strong since it took ten minutes to take effect."

Gaara hummed in thought before leaning over me to look at my head wound. "Found where the blood is coming from," He uttered quietly. His hand came up to my hairline, pushing my locks back. "Hidden in your hairline," He murmured, leaning too close for comfort. I knew he was studying the gaping wound in my head but still...he didn't need to be so close.

"Kazekage-Sama...if you would..." another medic suddenly stepped up to the task of healing my injury. Thankfully, Gaara stepped away from me and I felt like it was easier to breath. I shot the medic an easygoing smile, promising them that I wouldn't dislocate their jaw like I had done to the other guy.

While the medic set off to heal me, I glanced at my soon to be husband. "What happened to the man in black?" I asked. I had a serious bone to pick with him. Not only did I lose one of my heels and my purse in our melee, my fuckin' dress was ruined. That dress was cute. And it was barely holding onto me, what with the new rip in the side. I could clearly see the side of my bra I was wearing along with the strap of the scarlet thong I was wearing. Awesome.

"Kankuro and Temari are handling him."

"My lady?" the medic asked quietly, still probably fearful that I would freak and punch him out like the other one. I glanced up and noticed he was a little younger than the other medics. Older than me though. Maybe by a couple of years though. Cute. Very cute. Ahhh...what am I saying? I'm a soon to be married woman!

Ha.

"You are medically cleared to leave. There were no other injuries," He stated in a slightly nervous voice. I sat up and patted his cheek, smiling. I noted in amusement that his face light up under my touch. I quietly thanked him, apologized for punching his partner out and left with Gaara. It was late into the night, way past midnight so I really didn't have to worry about anyone seeing me in my current state. Although I kicked my remaining heel off and twisted my fingers with his just in case someone did see us.

"Not only are these people trying to kill you," I started the conversation calmly. "But now they're trying to kill me as well. And on the night of my engagement party too! Rude," I rambled even though I was sure Gaara wasn't really listening to me at all.

"Hopefully Temari and Kankuro can get some information."

"Are they trained in the art of interrogation?"

"It's an art?"

"Well, I'd like to think so."

Gaara glanced down at me and I shrugged. "Well, see, there was this one time when I was on interrogation duty and this fucker was actually kind of hard to crack, you know, tough guy. So I took out a kunai and just started hacking away at em' and using his blood to paint and well–"

"I get it," Gaara interrupted with a strained expression. I only smiled weakly and shrugged for the second time. Fine, he didn't want the gory details. He was still acting like he wasn't a psycho who liked the smell of blood. But that's fine. He could foo everyone else. But he couldn't fool me.

Couldn't fool me one bit.

* * *

I'm attracted to Gaara, that much I was aware of.

I mean, come on, the guy was hot. He had the whole bad boy look even though he was trying to be the exact opposite of a bad boy. But anyway, yes, I was attracted to him physically. Not emotionally though. I hated him. Him and this stupid marriage.

See, this realization happened when we returned to an empty home. I was surprised when he followed me up to our _(ew)_ bedroom. For a moment, I wasn't sure why the fuck he was coming up there. But then he shifted out of his suit jacket and I relaxed. And then I saw his wide shoulders, which I usually didn't take notice of because he was either always wearing that Kage robe of his or I was glaring at his face. But now that he was sitting in front of me and slowly coming out of his clothes. I was noticing..._things_.

Like his toned physique. Which kind of surprised me because I figured with him being a long-ranged distance fighter, his body would be lacking. But...nope. I could clearly see toned muscles underneath that thin dress shirt. And it was making me feel..._things_.

Gaara reached up, unaware of my prying eyes, and loosened his tie. I was supposed to be looking through my _(our? Our. ew) _closet for some pajamas but I was currently frozen in place and mesmerized by his shoulders. I had a thing for broad, strong shoulders, I suppose. He worked the tie off, throwing it to land in the growing pile of his tux. I wondered vaguely if he had abs...and if he did, how could I somehow look at them. Maybe I could trick him into getting a physical? Ah...that might work.

"What's wrong with you?"

I was jerked out of my plotting by his deep voice. That was another thing that was beginning to bother me. My weakness for his voice. It was low and raspy and it did..._things_ to me. It kind of pissed me off, actually. I was supposed to hate this guy but here I was getting turned on by his stupid shoulders and voice? "Nothing," I shrugged blandly, playing with my ruined hair. I probably looked less than attractive but I shouldn't care. It was just Gaara who saw. Ah, I'm pretty sure I didn't look that bad. My makeup was salvaged. My hair was a tousled mess and there's probably dried blood on my face. And there's also my ripped dress.

But I figured it gave me more of a wild look.

"Can I try something?" I suddenly asked, quickly crossing the room to stand over him. He only frowned up at me, leaning back to plant his hands on the bed. I could have killed him. He was sitting so casually. So trusting. I could have murdered him right there. But I didn't. I had something to prove. I leaned forward and cupped his face, caressing his jaw with my fingers. His face twisted up in obvious confusion and that's when I went in. I lurched forward and kissed him. He didn't immediately throw me off which I figured was a good thing. But he also didn't react act all.

The voice was in the back of my head, protesting whatever the hell I thought I was doing. _"What the hell is wrong with you?" _it snapped at me from what felt like the left side of my mind. _"What would any of this even prove? You're going to end up making things confusing for the two of you, stupid girl." _I ignored the voice much like I would ignore something my parents would say. I didn't give a fuck if it would make things confusing. It's not like anything would change between us because I wanted to kiss him. We would still hate each other.

I bit his bottom lip and Gaara grunted underneath me. Ha! A reaction. Finally, a reaction out of him. I dropped down on top of him, locking him in place with my legs. I felt one of his arms wrap around my middle to keep me in place.

Oh, well, wow, what's this?

Internally, I was cackling. Obviously if Gaara wasn't attracted to me, he wouldn't be reacting like this, right? Ha, I knew it. He pushed back against me and I almost lost my shit when his tongue bulldozed its way into my mouth. Well, shit. I didn't think it would escalate to this. I shifted, sinking further into him until there wasn't even a breath between us. My arms were locked around his neck and I twisted my tongue around his invading tongue. It's kind of funny, everything in our relationship was a fight.

I pulled away to gulp in some air, my breath fanning across his lips. We stared at one another for several seconds, not saying one word. The room was awkwardly quiet as I continued to pant against his lips. Why the hell was he not out of breath like I was? It was making things more awkward. Opening my mouth to try to fill up the awkward space between us, I was interrupted when we heard the front door bang open. "Gaara! Xin!" Temari's muffled voice broke through. I wasn't sure why Gaara didn't immediately shove me off of him, he was just staring at me.

"Ah..." I trailed off, shifting uncomfortably. "Thanks for that!" I chimed innocently before hurrying off of him and back towards the closet. I snatched whatever was in reach and quickly escaped the bedroom before Gaara could get a word in. "Be right down!" I called down the hall before ducking into the bathroom. The voice in my head was back...or maybe it hadn't left, I don't know. But it was doing that annoying thing, singing '_I told you so_' over and over in my head in an annoyingly high-pitched voice.

"Told me what?" I muttered as I yanked the ruined dress off. Maybe I could ask that crazy seamstress to make a copy of the dress, it really was cute. The voice in my head _(I should really come up with a name for it. Or, maybe not. Coming up with a name meant I acknowledged that it was real–which it_ _wasn't)_ began to go off on a long-winded rant about kissing my stupid hostile husband-to-be to prove something that didn't need to be proved. Or something like that.

I kind of just ignored its voice in favor of scrubbing my face. Wearing makeup was nice but the process of removing it proved to be tedious. Besides, makeup wasn't really my thing. With all the missions I used to go on, I never really had time to apply it. After all, who the fuck cares if my eyelashes are long and dark when enemies are busy trying to stab my throat out?

I shimmied into the loose fitting tank top and tiny shorts that I ended up grabbing. The voice was still talking, about what, I wasn't really sure. Sometimes I spoke to the voice but for the most part, I just tuned it out. I was opening the bathroom door when the voice lost its composure. _'Are you even listening?'_

"Oh for God's sake, shut the fuck up," I huffed out loud just as I stepped out of the bathroom and nearly ran into Gaara. He was giving me a strange look and I assumed he must have heard me tell seemingly no one to shut the fuck up.

"Uh..."

"I wasn't talking to you."

His strange expression morphed into a disturbed one. I think he was beginning to realize I had a habit of talking out loud and to myself. But it was just one of the many quirky habits I had and that he was going to have to get used to. If not that, he'd have to learn to ignore me. Gaara said nothing else, swiftly moving down the hallway towards the stairs. I was hot on his heels, slightly curious as to what Temari and Kankuro had to tell us. In the back of my mind, I wondered if the man in black was still alive. And if he was, would they let me murder him? He did, after all, ruin my dress. And I lost one of my heels, let's not forget!

We met his siblings in the kitchen. They were both sitting at the table, sporting worried or wary looks. "How's your head?" Temari asked before anything else could be said. I frowned at her but then remembered I had sustained a head injury thanks to the asshole in black.

"Oh, it's fine. Taken care of. They got to it before it could scar."

"She dislocated one of the medic's jaw."

Temari blinked in muted horror while I gaped at Gaara. "Oi! Why would you tell them that? At least tell them it was an accident. I didn't just wake up and think 'oh, lemme just punch the living shit out of his jaw right now'! I panicked, I told you that."

"You still dislocated his jaw."

"Oh fuck off, it wasn't even that bad. Did he die?"

"No but–"

"_But did he die_?"

"No, Xin."

"Alright then."

"You're a tic."

Kankuro heaved a heavy sigh. "Anyway!" He managed to say above us. "Can we please talk about the more important subject? Like, oh, I don't know, the man who tried to murder Xin tonight?" He asked sarcastically. I dully noted that Kankuro sounded rather disappointed when he said 'tried'. Huh. Well, fuck you too, puppet boy.

I dropped into the seat next to Temari and squared my shoulders. Gaara sat on my other side, waiting for either of his siblings to explain what all the mayhem was about. They both shifted around uncomfortably, shooting looks at each other. I think they were trying to figure out who was going to break the news. Before I could threaten either one of them, Temari opted to say it. "It would seem that that man was a part of the same group who attacked Xin last time with the exploding tags. We believed that they were only after Gaara but it seems that they have intentions to target Xin."

I tried not to say something sarcastic. I mean, really? Now they were just coming to the conclusion that I was also being targeted? Gee, what gave it away? Setting a bomb off in my face? Or how about trying to bury me under rubble? I'm pretty sure Gaara was waiting for the sarcastic jab because he was staring at me. Opting to prove him wrong, I remained quiet.

"We also learned that this group is being led by a man. We have reason to believe Gaara has done something in the past to trigger this...uprising but we aren't sure of what."

Okay, this time I just couldn't help myself. "Really? Not sure? Nine times out of ten, he probably killed someone. This is obviously a revenge ploy against the two of us. Well, him. I just got dragged into this because someone thought it would be a good idea to have us play pretend. He probably killed someone's girlfriend or something."

Kankuro and Temari looked slightly horrified by my blunt words but I only shrugged them off. "Whether you want to admit it or not, your brother's homicidal tendencies in the past has got us into some serious shit. This group isn't some random group of idiots put together. These guys are a threat to you, me and your villagers. What if someone had gotten hurt? Hm? We're not going to sit here and tiptoe around the truth to save Gaara's feelings."

Gaara's face was stony when I finally sat backwards in the chair, arms folded stubbornly. I waited several minutes for any of them to say something but none of them did. I shot a glance at Gaara, urging him to say something. He looked as if he was in deep thought about what I had just said. "Well, am I wrong?"

Gaara let out a long breath and I leaned over to nudge him with my shoulder. At my touch, he snapped to attention. It caused me to jump away and shoot him a look. _"I told you that you would make things confusing between you by doing what you did ten minutes ago." _

Confusing? As if, I still hated him with every fiber of my being. Kissing hadn't changed anything. So what if I found him attractive? Finding someone attractive didn't mean you had to be in love with that person. I also thought Sasuke was cute, did that mean we had to be in love? Of course not. I also thought his older brother was fine as fuck. Did that mean I was in love with him? Well, okay, I used to have a crush on him but that's beside the point.

Back to my point, a little kiss shouldn't change anything in our relationship. He still thought I was some psycho and I still thought he was a piece of shit. See, normality.

"No, she's not wrong. Although she could worded it differently," Gaara shot me a look. I only feigned innocence. What's wrong with the way I said it? I only cursed once, and it wasn't even my favorite curse word. I deserve more praise than that. "This is probably a retaliation for something I did in the past and now I'm paying for it."

I quietly sung out that I was also paying for it but he silenced me with a mean look. I smiled innocently but rolled my lips, signaling that I would be quiet. Well, maybe. I couldn't promise it. Sometimes I said things without thinking 'oh hey, that might not be appropriate'.

"With as little information that we have at the moment, we can't track this man down just yet. Like I said, we'll have to keep a close watch. And Xin," He suddenly looked towards me. I jumped at the tone of his voice, guilty for tuning his warnings out. "Stay out of trouble," He stated in a serious tone that left no room for arguments. Gaara was probably expecting a sarcastic comeback but I simply shrugged. The whole time I've been here, I was trying to stay out of trouble. Well, to the best of my abilities. But it seemed that each and every day, trouble found me.

When Temari and Kankuro got up to retire for the night, I quietly bid them a good night. I expected to Gaara to follow after them, to do what, I don't know. It seemed the guy never got any ounce of sleep. Which was unhealthy. I was really going to have to drag him in for a physical to make sure he's functioning properly.

"Now do you see why I am the way I am?" I suddenly asked softly, breaking the fragile silence that hung over us. He glanced at me briefly before finding something else to look at. "Do you see what happens when you just murder someone recklessly without eliminating anyone else that could come after you?"

"Do you really think that mindset is morally right?"

"_Morally right_?" I snorted and blinked tiredly. "We're _ninja_, Gaara. We aren't morally right from the _start_. We kill enemies. We steal from enemies. We may think we're doing the right thing in order to protect our loved ones or ourselves, but we're not. And do you really think I have time to think of my morals when I'm trying to make sure no one comes back for revenge? I take on the missions no one wants to dirty their hands with."

Some of the things I've done in the past weren't things I bragged about. I never bragged, boasted or spoke about my missions whenever I returned to Konoha from a mission. I simply told whoever asked that it was a success or a fail. It wasn't something I needed to share with them. They would be horrified by the things I've committed and I wouldn't blame any of them.

"I know you turned your life around and I respect you for that," I began to say quietly. "I do, I really do," I insisted after the perplexed look he gave me. "And your villagers adore you now, I can tell. Some of them are a little uneasy but they've mostly accepted you. However….you've done many people wrong. You've done some terrible things without thinking of how it might come back to bite you in the ass later on."

"And I suppose you _have_ thought about how it could bite you in the ass?"

"I'm not the one they're primarily hunting, am I? I'm your wife, that's why they targeted me."

"And how have you avoided having this problem?"

I stared at him, long and hard. As I said before, I didn't talk about my missions in detail. If I did speak of my missions, I'm certain I wouldn't have any friends. Not that I would blame any of them. "Most of the missions I was assigned as an ANBU member usually called for the assassination of someone. Runaways, foes, diplomats, anyone who tried to oppose Konoha in a threatening way. We're self-righteous people, you know? Just because we like us doesn't mean everyone else likes us," I stated wryly with a shrug.

"When I was out on these missions, I learned everything there is to know about my victims, including their friends and loved ones. After I took care of the mission, I took care of anyone who might seek revenge."

The kitchen was quiet as Gaara stared quietly at me. I suppose I didn't have to come out and say it. He wasn't stupid, he could easily read between the lines and get what I was saying. I was a murderer, plain and simple. Wrong as it may be, I did what I did to make sure my own family members and friends wouldn't have to pay for the type of missions I took on.

"…..I have a demon sealed inside me."

I sputtered, sitting up with wide eyes. "Excuse me?" I asked slowly. Gaara only continued to stare at me, not blinking those pretty eyes of his. "Did you say you had a demon sealed inside you?" I repeated slowly. Of course, there was always rumors like this swirling around. Ah…'Demon of the Sand', ha, that made so much sense right now. I mean, I knew the guy was ruthless and everything _(I remember him crushing Rock Lee's arm and leg during the Chunin exams when we were about twelve or so)_ but a demon? He had a demon in him?

"Well…." I hummed awkwardly of the long pause. "No wonder you and Naruto get along so well then, hm?" I asked slowly, trying to find the humor in this. How ironic that a boy with a bloodthirsty demon sealed inside him ends up with a girl whose a murderer with a voice in her head. Must be that destiny shit Neji always used to talk about. "Is the demon like the demon in Naruto? Like…a tailed beast that almost destroyed Konoha?"

Gaara nodded slowly, drumming his fingers against the table. I had a feeling he didn't often talk about this. Aw, how touching that he actually wanted to tell me about it. "The one tailed beast, Shukaku. It's a tanuki."

I frowned, noting that Gaara called the Shukaku an 'it' rather than a 'he'. Perhaps they were not on good terms? Or maybe they were, Gaara seemed to have better control over it. I figured that the bloodlust he used to exhibit was the Shukaku's doings and not his own. "What's he like?"

"A drunken ass."

My head hit the table and I was bursting with laughter. I just it found it funny that Gaara's dry ass got stuck with a demon like that. I could already picture the type of conversations they probably had. It probably went a lot like our conversations. Gaara telling us to shut the hell up after being vulgar. I calmed myself down after several seconds of hysterical laughter. I expected Gaara to tell me to shut the fuck up but he said nothing.

"We're….twisted people, you know? You can say you've turned your life around but I see the way you've stared at my blood, Gaara. You're as twisted as I am. You just hide it better and that's okay, you know? But…we're corrupted," I still had my head on the table but I turned so my cheek was resting against the table. He was staring at me again.

"Heaven knows we belong way down below."

* * *

ArtemisKirara7: Interesting, interesting to have them crack around the same time. I will think of going that route but I'm fickle, so we shall see, hm?

Akari: I hope this update didn't take too long, the last two updates were like back to back. The voice in her head is kind of funny, like a nagging parent to their rebellious daughter (I can just imagine her shouting SHUT UP MOM/DAD, YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ME to the voice, lol) It seems Xin had admitted that Gaara is attractive first but that's only because it's her point of view, maybe we'll see something about Gaara's point of view and his views on finding Xin attractive. Okay, I can totally understand why you'd think Natsu and Lucy have a sibling relationship but lemme just tell you. Noooo. I think the manga shows their relationship more. I mean, honestly, the feels. The feeeels.

JThawN: Xin's strong and sassy personality is refreshing but you know some people might think she's Mary-Sueish, so that's why I think I'm so nervous with her. But lately people seem to really like her character, so yay! Ah...my other demon fic. I do plan on finishing that, maybe rewrite some chapters. I sometimes feel like I was all over the place with that story. And you made a good point about the rookies not knowing of the marriage. I couldn't decide whether I wanted them to know or not until the last update. I wanted to show how she was more distance with her peers. She does have a type of disorder, but we'll find out exactly what very soon ;3

Afaaf: Yes yes, I'm trying to be better with my updates. Sometimes I just get severe writers block and can't come up with anything. But I have a lot I would like to do with this story, so that means more updates. Woo! I hadn't really noticed until you guys pointed out that most of the OCs paired with Gaara are a little meek or just really quiet or calm. I once read a fic where the OC was like a cold-hearted, vicious bitch. But she wasn't sassy. She was like a female version of pre-timeskip Gaara minus the crazy. I mean there's nothing wrong with that either. Thank you, thank you! Hope you liked this update!

Lillian: Yes, she's a psycho, badass though. Gotta love Xinny. I hope this chapter made you laugh as well, humor is one of my strong points! Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

UnsightlyDreams: Sakura is one of her best friends so she's a little more soft with her. Sasuke...ahhh, I wouldn't really call it bashing. They just have one of those love/hate relationships. But I'm glad you were comfortable with how they interacted. No no, your review is fine and I totally get reading a fic and trying to review when you're sleepy. But thanks so much, I'm glad she's fun and you love the relationship! Hope you enjoyed.

So I was having a hard time with deciding if Gaara should still have the Shukaku inside of him and Xin briefly mentioning her crush on Uchiha Itachi. But I figured it would make more sense if the boy with the crazy demon ended up with a girl with a voice in her head. You know, match their crazies in some way. I mean Gaara was the Kazekage with the Shukaku sealed in him before the Akatsuki came and fucked shit up. So I figured it would be plausible, especially seeing as how this story takes place in an alternative universe. This also explains Xin and Sasuke's hostile friendship since the Uchiha massacre never happened. They're both from opposing clans that are vying for best clan in the village, blah blah blah. So I hope that doesn't bother anyone.

And as for the kiss between Gaara and Xin. They're not in love, they still very much hate one another so don't think they're moving too fast. It was just an experiment. Xin simply had something to prove is all. And I just wanted a reason for the voice in her head to start yelling at her. And Gaara...well...maybe he's never been kissed. Or maybe he has. We don't know. Maybe I'll make some shit up. I don't know.

Hope you guys revieeeeew!


	8. Baby, you're sick

The doors to the office slammed open, swinging into the walls with a loud thud. Gaara looked up dully, already prepared for the ensuing tantrum he was about to witness. Xin stormed in, eyes light up in fiery annoyance. She came to an abrupt stop at his desk and slammed her hands down on the surface. With a blank look, he caught his potted cactus before it could fall off the desk and shatter. "When were you going to tell me, huh? Huh?!" She demanded in a shrill voice.

"While I understand your anger–"

"Oh, oh, do you, Gaara? Do you really?"

"There is no reason to throw a tantrum, so just calm yourself–"

"I am calm!"

Gaara tapped his hands against the desktop as Xin took several breaths in order to calm her anger. "You know, if this is about the man in black, I told you, it wasn't my fault."

"You killed him."

"He's not even dead, he's in a coma."

Gaara shot her a look that told her he clearly wasn't in the mood. "He tried to kill me first!" Xin insisted shrilly, throwing her hands up. It had only been a week since the engagement party when Xin decided to visit the man in black in custody. She insisted that she would behave and she only had some questions. And then Temari came in shouting that the man was in the hospital in a coma. Xin had feigned innocence at first but cracked after Gaara hung her upside down from the ceiling. Apparently the man in the black had somehow broke free and attempted to murder Xin.

In retaliation, she 'batted' him away thoughtlessly. And he flew out the window. Now, in her defense, they were only on the second floor. After checking if he was still alive _(which he was)_ she took him to the hospital to be treated. And now the man in black was in a coma. Because Xin slapped him out the window.

Gaara sighed.

"What was I supposed to tell you about?"

A light bulb seemingly went off in her head. "The Chūnin exams! Why didn't you tell me they were being held in Konoha again, hm? Were you planning on attending without me?" She demanded, flailing her arms around erratically. She reminded him of a panicked duck, he thought wryly.

"I didn't think you would need to know."

"Well, in case you forgot, I am from Konoha."

"And are you a Genin participating in the Chūnin exams?"

"You know good and well that I'm not a Genin."

Gaara hummed, picking his ink pen back up. "If that is so and you so clearly outrank the Genin, why would it be necessary for you to go to the Exams?" He asked dully, continuing to look, approve, deny or sign the many forms that had accumulated.

"Because, you goddamn demon," She began, grinning when he shot her a reprimanding look. "You're not going to leave me here while you go trapeze around my village watching children beat the living shit out of each other. I deserve to go."

"You know I only attend the final round of the Exams."

"Yeah? Well, so will I."

* * *

"Wait, Kankuro has a Genin team?" Xin blinked owlishly as Jura rudely rifled through her medic's cabinet. He peeked out at her, frowning with an eyebrow quirked. "What, I honestly didn't know he had a team. Are they qualified for the Exams?"

"He's a good teacher, how do you not know this? He's your brother-in-law. And they better qualify for the Exams, my little brother is on that team," Jura stated as something dropped. Xin blankly glanced at him as something skittered across the floor. "I didn't drop anything! Don't look over here!"

The foreigner shook her head again and turned back to her latest medical report. "How many siblings do you have, Jura?" She asked offhandedly, unaware that Hatsune wasn't his only other sibling. She wondered vaguely if the younger sibling was as crazy as Hatsune. She supposed there was a lot of things she didn't know about Jura. But then again, there was a lot he didn't know about her.

"I have an older brother and sister but my sister lives in Kiri with her husband. And my older brother is an ANBU member so he isn't around a lot," Jura explained as he picked up whatever he had spilled across the floor.

Xin hummed in thought, so they did have an ANBU organization. Perhaps she should look into that once she was allowed to have missions. She would really hate to being demoted. "Well, I hope your brother's team passes. But I'll have to let you know, the shinobi of Konoha are not kids to underestimate."

"Well, the shinobi of Konoha do have a reputation of being reckless…"

"Not reckless. Rather, driven and determined to succeed. Not our fault if our determination intimidates the rest of you."

"You slapped that man out of a window. You don't think that's reckless?"

"He tried to kill me!"

* * *

"You're going too?" Xin gaped at the older blonde.

Temari glanced away for a second before continuing to chop the carrots. "Well, of course. I'm a crucial representative of Suna. And besides, I'm not overly nervous when escorting Gaara," She shrugged casually before concentrating on her task. Cooking the meals had been quietly passed off to Xin but Temari still insisted on helping in preparing the meals. And she didn't really mess that up under Xin's watchful eyes. And besides, it was kind of nice to boss people around.

"Nervous? What's so nerve wracking about him?"

Temari simply shook her head. "I suppose someone who can slap someone out of window wouldn't be easy to intimidate," She teased lightly with a wry smile. Xin quickly huffed that it wasn't her fault and that it was self-defense but Temari only laughed the excuses off.

"I want to go," Xin suddenly stated firmly, casually seasoning the fish. "It's only fair that I go, I think you guys owe me that much. After all, this marriage is a sham and someone's trying to kill me so I think allowing me to come to the finals is only fair."

"Are you trying to guilt me?"

"Yes, yes I am."

Temari didn't reply, huffing softly at the thought of the tiny woman actually trying to guilt her. And it was actually working. It was nearly four months since Xin arrived and she hadn't seen any action besides having the explosive tags going off in her face and falling through a ceiling. All due to a crazy band of extremists trying to prove something.

Allowing her to come along wouldn't hurt. And besides, it gave her time to visit her friends and family. She knew the girl was feeling some sort of way after Team 7 and Hinata had paid a visit nearly a month ago. "Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt. And you could take the time to visit your family," Temari shrugged one of her shoulders, almost missing the strange face Xin threw her. "What? What's with that face? Did I do something wrong to the carrots?" She looked down at the orange slices but saw nothing wrong.

"Who said I'd visit my family?"

"Ah?"

Xin flipped the fish over to season the other side. "Who said anything about visiting my family? I'm going because I want to watch the finals, not to see my family. Besides, I have nothing to say to them. I mean, if I see my sisters and my cousin, that's one thing. But going out of my way to speak to the people who easily threw me to you guys without a backwards glance? No thanks."

Temari eyed the younger woman. "Did you ever get along with your family?" Temari asked boldly. Xin was always tight lipped about her family. She had barely even mentioned her sisters, let alone her parents. Temari realized that they still knew very little of the woman despite living together for four months.

"Not really," Xin shrugged this time. "You know how highly-esteemed clans are, the Hyuga clan is not as easygoing as the Akimichi clan or the Nara clan. Do I seem like someone out of the Hyuga clan? Do I seem like I should be the clan leader's daughter? I was kind of an embarrassment to them. Or a disgrace. Whichever you think is worse. Personally my favorite was always a disgraceful embarrassment."

Temari stayed quiet as Xin rambled on about her family. Well, this was a new development. She had been certain that Xin would snap about it being none of her business. "Was it just your sisters and your cousin you got along with?"

"Not always," Xin shrugged again. "When we were younger, Neji hated the living shit out of us. Hinata was a stuttering mess and Hanabi was just always…unnervingly quiet. I was trained separately from them. They had enough problems, they didn't need me to influence them negatively. You know, most of the time I was running around with Naruto or something. Or fighting."

The older blonde frowned, she was trying not to shoot Xin a pitying expression. Around the time her Father had died, neither she nor her brothers had the best relationship with him. But it had been different when she was younger. She still remembered having a rather nice home life before her Mother died and Gaara was born. Not that she was saying it was Gaara's fault.

"Were they ever nice to you?" She asked softly, uneasy that Xin would snap at any moment for her to mind her damn business. Xin paused with a thoughtful look as she moved on to the next fish to prepare and season.

"Ah…sometimes they put my name on the birthday cake," She grinned as if it really was a joke but shrugged for a third time. Temari was starting to see a pattern with all the shrugging. She was trying to come off as being unaffected but Temari knew. She knew.

It was quiet for a couple seconds before Xin broke it. "My life wasn't that bad, my childhood, I mean. Some kids didn't even have parents, like Naruto, you know? I never thought of my childhood as being tragic or anything. I didn't even think the treatment was a big deal until Hinata apologized about it when we were around fourteen. I always thought the treatment was normal. They kind of treated her like shit too, you know?"

Temari wasn't…disturbed, per say. But she was a little unnerved that Xin was speaking so freely. She had a feeling she didn't often talk about her childhood. And now that she was…it was all just coming out. "Well, they treated her a little better because she's older than me and more likable, I'd say. Her and our family began to get along sometime after Neji beat the living shit out of her."

"But they still didn't get along with you?"

"Well, no, like I said, Hina was more likable. She's sweet and respectful and docile. Even if she wasn't always the best kunoichi, she'd be a really good woman. A really good wife and mother later on in life. Which is kind of funny since I'm getting married first but you get what I'm saying but I'm sure they don't see this as an accomplishment. The marriage is fake, after all."

There was a pregnant pause before Xin poked at it. "So, you understand why I'd rather not visit them. There's really no point, I wouldn't put it past them to erase any traces of me ever being there. My room was probably cleaned out and used as a storage room for weapons and any pictures were probably stored away."

"Xin, that's just sad."

She couldn't help it, really, she tried to hold her tongue but it proved to be too much. It was true that others had it worse, some kids never knew their parents. And others had to deal with having parents only to have them die on a mission or something along those lines. But just because she knew her parents didn't mean she deserved that sort of childhood. Just because she had been different from her sisters and the rest of the clan didn't mean they should have isolated her like that. That's probably why she was so damn strange and impartial to human lives.

Why would she know how to treat others kindly when her own parents hadn't even treated her kindly?

* * *

Xin was a bouncing ball of energy when it finally came time to travel to Konoha. From what she remembered _(because she often tuned things out_) Kankuro's team had been rather successful. Two of his students had passed to the final round. She was sure one of them was Jura's sibling.

"Xin, put this on," Temari shoved a thick strip of cloth at her. The younger woman held it up, frowning as she examined it. What the hell was she supposed to do with it? Put it on where? Temari noticed the confusion and took the cloth back only to fasten it around the bottom half of her face.

"And what is the point of this?"

"Didn't ANBU members wear something to conceal their identity in Konoha?"

"Yes. Actual masks. This is a piece of cloth. And it's not even covering my eyes, Temari. And in case it's not obvious, my eyes are a dead giveaway as to who I am."

"Just wear it, Xin."

"Fine."

Gaara appeared, followed shortly by Jura. Xin quirked her eyebrow at the shinobi. "And what the hell are you doing here? It's four in the morning," She stated with a hand on her hip. She hadn't been happy when Temari came into her room to wake her up. She had been downright pissed when Gaara's sand literally dragged her out of bed.

Jura eyed her before grinning. "Who do you think is the third party for this team?"

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me."

"What's that supposed to mean? I'm just as capable as you are."

"I kicked your sorry ass last time we sparred."

"You kicked me in my eyes. That's hardly honorable."

The remaining sand siblings sighed heavily as the two found the energy to bicker. The two managed to shut the bickering duo up long enough to set off for Konoha. Gaara was quickly regretting the choice of letting the two knuckleheads act as his guards, as they bickered the whole way. Whether it was about who was the better combatant, Xin's violent ways towards puppets, or about Jura spilling everything in the medic's office Xin currently occupied. The only time the bickering stopped was when they settled during the nights.

By the time they reached Konoha three days and two nights later, the foursome was a little weary. The energy that had Xin bouncing for joy had been sapped out of her, casting her into a rather grumpy mood despite the fact that she was now closing in on her home village.

The gatekeepers didn't take notice of Xin and Temari was sure it bummed the younger woman out. But she said nothing as she maneuvered them through the village thoughtlessly. The villagers openly stared at them, some excited with the arrival of the Kazekage. Others were wary. Temari wasn't sure if they were wary because of Gaara specifically or if it was because they were Sand ninjas.

She led them to the Hokage's tower to meet with Tsunade. "There's this nice hotel..." Xin began to finally speak up as she led them up the stairs. "Right down the road, actually. We should stay there. You know, they have the comfiest beds I have ever had the pleasure of laying my head on."

"You're not staying with your parents?"

Temari glanced at Jura, lips thinned apprehensively. It was obvious she was the only one who knew some sort of inkling of Xin's relationship with her family. She nervously glanced at Xin, ignoring the odd looks her brother sent her way. The tiny kunoichi was silent, sliding her hand up the thick railing as they continued to climb the never ending staircase.

"I didn't come here to visit my parents. I came here in order to act as a guard for my fiancé. How can I do that if I'm staying with my parents and he's in a hotel?" She asked in a casual voice, finally coming to a stop at the very top of the staircase. Temari released her a breath she wasn't aware she was holding. That was a good save, it was plausible. It made sense. Xin's poker face was amazing, which sort of unnerved her but she didn't say anything else as Xin allowed Gaara to enter Tsunade's office first.

The Konoha native tuned out the conversation between the Kages. It wasn't about her so she didn't concern herself with the formalities. Her eyes wandered to the window behind her former Lady, reminiscing about all the times she came rolling through those windows to purposely annoy Tsunade. The foursome turned to leave the room, missing the look Tsunade shot towards the smallest member. The older blonde bit her lip, closed her eyes and shook her head.

Xin hadn't even looked at her.

* * *

_Xin's P.O.V_

"Temariiiiii."

My future sister-in-law smiled tightly as I took her aside. "Why the fuck am I sharing a room with Gaara? Why are you bunking with Jura? What sense does that make?" I hissed into her face as Gaara and Jura spoke to the woman at the front desk. She was eying both of them hungrily and I almost gagged.

"It makes sense because you're supposed to be in love," She hissed back quietly, eyes darting around for eavesdroppers. "And there wasn't any rooms available with four beds, what do you want me to do about that? Do I look like the owner of this hotel?" She continued in a strained voice.

No she didn't just get sassy with me.

"You're the freakin' Kazekage's sister! You could've done _something_. You could have demanded a bigger room. It's a fuckin' hotel, Temari. They have bigger rooms available. Stop being cheap!"

"Why don't you do something? You're the one marrying him."

"Oh, I _really_ don't think you want me to do something. I'll embarrass the shit out of all of us in here, I don't give a fuck! The minute I take this stupid cloth off these people will know who I am and let me tell you something, Temari, they _know _me."

Which was code for these people knew I was out of my fuckin' mind and I would most likely set this building on fire if it came down to it.

"Temari, Xin, come on," Gaara suddenly interrupted us before we could continue. I shot her one of the meanest glares my face was capable of making before twisting around to flounce over to the supposed love of my life. Temari and Jura followed behind us silently, nodding their heads when we made it to our separate rooms. I said nothing to either of them and simply closed door behind me after allowing Gaara to enter first.

He was looking around, studying the interior. We had a living room, a kitchenette and two doors that led to the bathroom and the bedroom that housed the heavenly bed I spoke about earlier. "I'm taking a bath," I announced first before hurrying to barricade myself in the bathroom.

It was almost strange to be back in Konoha after being away for months. Nothing had changed and I wasn't sure what I was expecting. Did I expect everything to stop just because I was tossed to another village? Life would go on with or without me. And the village had no problem going on.

The bath water was scalding hot as I sank in but I only hissed in some sort of sick satisfaction at the pain. My pale skin light up, becoming blotchy and red as I soaked in the unbearably hot water. But even so, I remained, I even sank down so the water lapped at the bottom of my mouth. It wasn't until the water was freezing cold that I sank all the way underneath. If I just forced myself to stay under...I would eventually stop breathing. And it could be over just like that. It could. I could end it all. End, end, end, end it all.

But what would that prove? It would prove that I was a coward who couldn't adapt to her situation. It proved that I was weak. It proved that I wasn't worth anything, just like my grandfather always said. A waste of space, he always said. God, I wanted to break his jaw. I wanted to hurt him. I wanted to hurt them all. I wanted them to suffer. Not mentally or emotionally. That wouldn't do shit for me, that wouldn't get me off. I wanted them to scream and cry. I wanted them to suffer physically. I wanted to feel their bones breaking, I wanted to see them lose hope. I wanted them to feel betrayed by someone they thought cared for them.

With that in mind, my hand shot out of the water and gripped the edge of the porcelain tub. I sat up with a shuddering breath, throwing freezing water everywhere. I took a deep breath and brushed my sopping wet hair back, ignoring the feeling of it sticking and itching my back.

I happened to glance to the side and met the blank gaze of my fiancé.

* * *

"Oi!"

Kankuro grinned as I and Jura neared him. Temari and Gaara were back at the hotel, making preparations for God knows what. I really didn't care to know. But the older blonde had given the two of us permission to go out and enjoy Konoha before the final rounds tomorrow. And we just happened to run into the missing Sand Sibling "Kankuro," Jura grinned and knocked elbows with him, something a stupid thing boys did, I figured. I smiled sweetly at him, giving him my own greeting. "Tell me Hideki made it into the finals," Jura said dramatically. I only snorted, hands on my hips.

"Of course he did!" Kankuro threw his hands up. "What type of teacher do you take me for?"

"Well...only two of your students made it through...sooooo..."

"Its been a month, Xin. You could at least pretend to be nice."

Jura grinned at the two of us but I only shrugged. "Let's get some Ichiraku's," I suddenly suggested, walking off before either of them could ask what the fuck an Ichiraku was. It was probably best to stay away from popular hang out spots but I had the oddest craving for the famous ramen.

"Maybe you should take this chance to visit your family," Jura hummed brightly as they followed after me. I glanced at Jura, frowning tightly. What was this guy and his obsession for my family? He constantly brought up the idea of visiting my family.

"Why're you so obsessed with my family, Jura?" I asked as we made it to the famous ramen stand. Kankuro and Jura looked around at the small establishment but I simply waved for them to sit down. The shop was meager, yes, but that was apart of it's charm.

"Well, you haven't seen them in like four months, right? I just figured you would miss them. And I kind of want to see what type of people you come from..." He grumbled quietly as he looked over the menu. I only balanced my chin in my hand and stared at him through half-lidded eyes.

"_What type of people_? You make it sound like we're not human."

"Well...you did slap a man out of a window."

"You did what?"

"I did not!"

"Xin!" the old shop owner interrupted us before anything more could be said. I turned to him, beaming brightly. "Naruto told me you got hitched and left the village! What're ya doing back here?" He grinned down at me, his wrinkles pulling back. I could only grin back. If I ever destroyed Konoha in the name of vengeance, the old man would be permitted to live. Oh, and his daughter. No one could make ramen quite like those two. I nodded at that thought. Yes, they would live.

After giving the old man a short summary as to why I was back and who the knuckleheads were, he served me my usual shrimp-flavored ramen. I ordered beef and chicken ramen for Kankuro and Jura, promising it was fuckin' delicious.

And it was.

When we finished and paid, I promised the old man I would pay another visit before leaving after the finals. Jura was determined to get me to lead them towards the Hyuga clan but I stood my ground. I would not step foot in their domain. I was not welcomed. I was never welcomed.

"Xin?"

I didn't even have to turn around to know who it was. My eyes shot open wide and I contemplated hopping the fence and running off into the foliage. But that would make my avoidance quite obvious and one thing I did not want was drama during my stay. "Itachi!" I grinned, spinning around to face the older Uchiha. Okay, listen, just to get this out of the way, I had a major crush on Sasuke's older brother until God knows when. I don't think I ever fully got over it, either. With all the dark and gory missions I was taking on, the crush was the last thing I was worried about.

But it wasn't like the crush my sister had for Naruto. I didn't hide behind trees and pass out whenever Itachi so much as breathed my way. It was just one of those 'well, holy shit, he's hot, I kinda wanna fuck him' kind of things. Well, it turned into that. It was obviously much more innocent when I was younger. I'm not sure why I never did anything about it.

Itachi probably never saw me in that light, I suppose. He had known me since I was a child and watched me grow into the disturbed psycho I was today. Just because our clans were rivals didn't mean our Mothers weren't friends. His Mother was a lovely woman and so was mine and they had a lot in common. Mikoto and Manami used to set my sister and I up on play dates with Sasuke when were younger and a lot of times Itachi was put on babysitting duty. You know, when he wasn't out on his own missions. The guy was a fuckin' phenom. And I wasn't just saying that because he had the face of a God. He was a genius.

And I had the biggest crush on him. I'm sure he knew. Itachi knew everything. But I don't think he knew that I knew that there was something...not entirely right with him. I just always had the feeling that he didn't quite...belong in the Uchiha family. I don't know, it was just a feeling but he always seemed out of place among them. Not exactly like me and the Hyuga clan but something like it.

Itachi stepped within range of me, eyes searching me from head to toe. It was something he always used to do when I returned from my missions. I'm sure he was convinced I'd eventually come back missing a hand or something. "I returned from my mission and you were gone," He stated with a frown. I sucked my lower lip into my mouth nervously. "Hinata-Chan told me you were getting married to the Kazekage," He continued to speak calmly. I felt the usual ball of jealousy settle in the pit of my stomach.

It was juvenile to be upset over but it always pissed me off when he would use that suffix with my sister but there was no suffix for me. It was just Xin. It's always just Xin to everyone. But Hinata...it's always Hinata-Chan or Hinata-San or Lady Hinata. Perhaps that's why I was so adamant with Matsuri, Sari and anyone else back in Suna about being formal towards me. I wasn't used to it. It was weird. It was weird to hear someone say 'Lady Xin' or Xin-San. It's always just fuckin' Xin.

"Yes, I'm marrying Gaara–ah...the Kazekage. I'm marrying the Kazekage," I trailed off. Why the fuck did he care anyway...

"I wasn't aware that you had relations with him of that caliber."

I ran my hand through my ponytail before yanking it over my shoulder and playing with it. "Well, he's the Kazekage. It probably wouldn't have been the best idea to flaunt it. And you know about everything that happened during the Suna and Oto's betrayal at the Exams years ago.." I softly reminded him. Itachi nodded slowly. I could just feel Kankuro's gaze boring into the back of my head. Jura was too stupid to take notice of the situation but I had a feeling Kankuro was thinking things he shouldn't be thinking. I only sighed and tugged harder at my hair.

"Still have that bad habit I see," Itachi commented casually. I quickly pulled my hands from hair, rubbing at the back of my neck. A nervous laugh trickled out of me and I suddenly felt like a blushing fourteen year old again. Ew. I rocked back on my heels, ready to dart the other way. "Lord Kazekage...he treats you accordingly?" Itachi asked slowly, placing his hand on my shoulder in order to halt my rocking. Was he actually asking me if Gaara was treating me right? Well...Gaara did have a bad reputation, being known as the 'Demon of the Sand', now that I thought of it.

I suddenly remembered all the times Gaara has manhandled me with his sand, whether it was pinning me to the ceiling, dragging me out of bed, attacking me with it out of spite and being verbally abusive towards me. "Ah..." I let out a small laugh. "He treats me..."

"Like a spoiled princess."

I glanced behind me, shooting a glare at Kankuro. "Did anyone ask you?" I huffed at him. Kankuro let out a low chuckle and raised his hands up in surrender with a mutter of 'just saying'. Next to him, Jura laughed a little nervously. Turning back around, I glanced at Itachi's hand—which was still glued to my shoulder. "He treats me well, Itachi. There's no need to see him as a threat. He and I..." I trailed off, looking away almost dramatically. I felt like I was in one of Sakura's cheesy romance films. "We're perfect for one another."

Itachi nodded slowly, letting the words sink in. I didn't understand why he was so concerned about the relationship I had but I shook the feeling off. I needed to get away from him. I was suddenly regretting the choice of even coming here. I didn't belong.

"Well," I smiled tightly, almost desperate to get away from my former_ (or not so former, still not sure)_ crush. "It was nice seeing you, Itachi. Maybe I'll see you around before leaving, yeah? Tell Sasuke I still think he's an asshole and give Mikoto-Kaa a kiss for me, yeah? Bye!" I was speed-walking away before anyone else could get another word in.

Kankuro and Jura made startled noises as I made my hasty retreat and jogged to catch up to me. I kept my face trained forward, not bothering to risk a glance back. I'm positive that Itachi was probably already moving on, putting our awkward meeting behind us.

I didn't see him glance back my way.

I didn't see him frowning.

I didn't see.

_End P.O.V_

* * *

"It was the weirdest shit I ever saw in my life."

Temari glanced up as Kankuro stormed into the room, completely shattering the normal conversation she was having with Gaara. With a blonde brow quirked, she frowned. "Where's Xin and Jura?" She asked, completely ignoring Kankuro's statement.

"What? Oh, Jura wanted Xin to meet Hideki. I figured it would be fine, they're just down the road from us, how much trouble could they get into?" Kankuro shrugged as he flopped down next to his younger brother. Gaara frowned, tilting his head to the side.

"If it's Xin, Jura and Jura's younger brother, I figure they could get into a lot of trouble..." Gaara grumbled quietly. Kankuro paused, thinking it over only to grimace. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to let the three of them go off by themselves.

"Well, that's not important—"

"And what is?"

"I'm getting to that, Temari," Kankuro grumbled with a frown. "We were coming back and we ran into someone Xin knew, an Uchiha. Not the younger one, the older one. And it was the weirdest shit I've ever seen in my life. Xin was actually nervous. It was like how Matsuri used to act whenever Gaara would speak to her. Like she had no idea what to say what to say to that man, you know? It was so weird."

"Are you trying to tell me Xin has a crush on someone and started to freak out when he approached her?" Temari snorted with humor. The thought of that little psychopath having a crush? A crush that makes her nervous?

She glanced at Gaara, gouging his expression. The redhead's expression hadn't changed from the moment Kankuro stepped through the door. Kankuro made a strange noise in the back of his throat. "That's exactly what I'm trying to tell you guys, she's definitely in love with that guy..."

Finally Gaara snorted. "You think she's capable of being in love?" He leaned back, a strange look in his eyes. "The only thing that woman is capable of is murdering and cursing," He stated simply with another snort before going back to the scroll Temari handed off to him.

Kankuro made another noise, a more whiny noise this time. "Listen, I know what I saw. You just had to be there to see it," Kankuro waved his arms dramatically, almost like Xin would. "She's in love with that guy, there's no doubt about it."

Gaara simply frowned.

* * *

_Xin's P.O.V_

As expected, Jura and I were posted at Gaara's side the following day up away from the crowd. Kankuro and Temari were God knows where, probably somewhere in the crowd watching the finals. Tsunade sat next to Gaara, her own guards posted at her sides. They were speaking, trying to make conversation. I tuned it out, eyes trained on the match. The kids currently duking it out were good but they were nothing compared to my own generations' skills. I suppose that's the problem with this generation.

They're not as...tough or thick-skinned.

Jura shifted impatiently next to me and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I shifted a little closer to him and subtly kicked the hell out of his ankle. He faltered for a second and made a strangled noise. I quickly straightened up and smiled behind the thick cloth covering the lower half of my face. "Are you alright?" Tsunade asked, lips twisted up into a confused frown. She glanced at me but I feigned innocence, looking down at the match. Gaara glanced at me as well but turned to look at Jura, a certain look in his eye.

"I'm fine, Lady Tsunade," Jura said quickly. "Thank you for the concern but I'm fine," He said tightly. I hummed softly under my breath, trying hard to mask the smile in my eyes. Gaara looked at me again but I was still humming innocently. I could just see what he was trying to say in his eyes. _'Behave'. _

There was a couple more matches before Hideki finally hopped into the arena for his turn. Ironically, he was pitted against a Konoha Genin. Hideki was a good kid with an outgoing personality. He obviously had some talent since he qualified for the finals. I wanted to cheer for the boy but the only problem was he was pitted against a Genin from Konoha. A Genin from the Uchiha clan. Do I root for Jura's younger brother or do I root for an Uchiha clansmen? Oh, decisions, decisions.

I suddenly felt my ankle being kicked and I faltered, catching onto the back of Gaara's chair to steady me. I let out a tiny squawk of surprise and turned to shoot an evil stare at Jura. I could see the smirk in his eyes and it took everything in me not to choke him. Gaara and Tsunade were staring at me much like they had been staring at Jura not even twenty minutes ago. "I'm fine, I'm fine," I insisted quickly before either of them could ask if I was alright. Gaara shot me a look but I said nothing else, opting to straighten up.

For the remainder of the finals, Jura and I behaved. Although Jura had gotten himself worked up during his brother's match, he was quickly silenced by Gaara's stare. Hideki ended up winning, which honestly surprised me. I mean, come on, he was fighting an_ Uchiha_. The Hyuga family was going to rub that loss right into the Uchiha family's face for awhile.

Jura and I escorted Gaara back before I spent twenty minutes convincing Gaara to come join us on celebrating Hideki's win. "Oh c'mon, honey, smile! You should be happy Suna's youth can stand up to Konoha. I told you they're tough opponents. Show your support," I rambled to Gaara while brushing my hair. He glanced at me, frowning with a confused look. I looked back at him with my own confused look. "What?" I placed the brush down and leaned against the dresser.

"Kankuro thinks you're harboring a crush."

"I'm sorry, a what? A crush?" I scoffed, trying to make sure my voice didn't falter or crack. "Do I look twelve to you? A crush?" I placed a hand on my hip and shook my head. I was definitely going to kick Kankuro in his damn face next time I got the chance.

Gaara shrugged one shoulder. "I believe he mentioned that it was the older Uchiha, Sasuke's brother?" He continued to say coolly. His expression said nothing, feigning cool indifference. It took complete and utter will not to blush like an idiot.

"Itachi? He thinks I have a crush on Itachi?" I let out a laugh but it kind of sounded like a wheeze. "He's like an older brother to me, that's kind of gross," I stated with a huff. "Why are we even talking about this? Don't tell me you feel some sort of way about it."

Gaara snorted as I turned back to the mirror. "Don't flatter yourself," Gaara stated with another snort. I replied with my own snort. If he hadn't felt some sort of way about it, why bring it up? Even if I did have a crush on Itachi, what difference would it make?

"I did have a life before you, Gaara. Even if I did have some sort of crush on Itachi, why should you even care? Did you think I was someone who didn't have a life before coming to Suna? Matsuri has an obsessive crush on you, you don't see me questioning it, yeah?"

"You sound defensive."

"I'm simply making a point. Which color do you like?" I held up two different shirts, a black tank top and a dark purple crop top with kimono-like sleeves. He glanced at the two shirts I was holding up and thoughtlessly nodded to the purple crop top. Eyebrows raised, I nodded and turned back away. "I told you before, we're twisted people. We're corrupted. Twisted and corrupted people don't have time to run off and fall in love. Love only exists in poetry and epic tales. We are not an epic tale."

He was squinting at me but I simply brushed past him into the bathroom to change. I slipped into the crop top and pulled on a pair of black tights. Despite being dressed casually, I still strapped my holster to my thigh along with both my weapons and medics pouch to my waist. Swinging the door open I slipped back into the room with Gaara to slip my sandals on. "Come on, there's this BBQ restaurant down the street. Kankuro and the others should be there already," I opened the door and beckoned for him to follow.

Gaara obediently followed after me, throwing me off guard when he looped an arm around my waist. Honestly, I had forgotten about the act we were supposed to be putting on. Konoha was told the same news as Suna, we were in love and ready to get married.

All I could do was grin and bare it.

* * *

"Congratulations!" Jura exclaimed loudly, swaying back and forth and spilling the alcoholic beverage out of the heavy mug. Hideki blushed under his brother's antics and tried to steady the bigger man. The siblings and I watched in bemusement.

Jura swayed again and the liquid sloshed sloppily over the lip of the mug. "Jura, I think you've had enough, yeah?" I stood up from my seat and calmly placed a hand on his shoulder. Jura turned to me, brown eyes lighting up. Almost like he had forgotten I was even there.

"Xinny!" He shouted loudly, gaining some looks. I only laughed nervously as he swung his arm and looped it around my shoulders. "Didja see, Xinny? Didja see Hideki? He whooped the Uchiha brat's ass, didn't he?"

"Jura," I grumbled against his chest as he whirled me into him. "Jura, please. Shut up. Seriously, we're still in Konoha and you might offend someone," I warned him, peeling myself away from his chest. I felt another hand loop around my waist and suddenly I was jerked back into my seat by Gaara.

"Settle down, Mikawa," Gaara ordered sternly, fingers tapping against my hip. I laughed nervously and stopped myself from grabbing his hand and breaking it. Just like back in Suna, we had to prove that we were in a loving relationship. People in a loving relationship acted like this. Like a couple.

"I think that's enough celebrating for the night," this time, Temari stood up with a stern air about her. She swept around the table and wrestled Jura away from Hideki. "Kankuro, return to your hotel with Hideki and I'll take Jura back to our room."

I quirked an eyebrow. "And us?" I wondered out loud. Temari glanced down at us, eyes flickering back and forth between her brother and I.

"Why don't you enjoy the night?"

Oh, fuck you, Temari.

And that's how Gaara and I found ourselves wandering about Konoha, his arm looped around my waist. My eyes searched each road we turned down, seeking out any familiar faces. I really didn't have the energy to deal with any of my friends. Or family. God, please, not my family.

"You smell like Jura."

I almost tripped over my feet. "I smell like Jura? How the hell do I smell like Jura?" I asked crossly. And then I remembered when Jura locked me into him with that drunken hug. "Oh, when he hugged me. I guess it does make sense that I smell like him. And his beer," I rambled, only to stop with a grin. "Does it bother you?" I asked cheekily.

Gaara stopped, causing me to stop. He was staring down at me with a questionable look in his eyes. He ducked his head down closer to me. My eyebrows drew together but I didn't back away, opting to let him do whatever the fuck he was doing. "It bothers...the Shukaku."

I nearly choked on my own spit. The Shukaku was bothered by Jura's scent? Now why the hell would that even be a factor? I only frowned and finally tried to put some space in between us. "Well," I said slowly, watching as his eyes flickered for a quick second. "It's not my fault, is it?"

His lips drew back and I suddenly caught sight of sharpened teeth before he surged forward. I let out a surprised yell and with my reflexes, snatched a kunai out of my holster. I forgot about the damn sand in that miniature gourd and was restrained by it. His other hand slipped around my other hand and stopped me from attacking with that one. I stared up at him with wide and bulging eyes. What the hell did he think he was doing? What was any of this going to prove and why the fuck did his eyes keep flickering?

"Gaara, what are you do—"

I let out a shrill squeak when he dove down to press his face into my neck. Okay, okay. Calm down, just keep calm. He's not...he's not doing anything. He's just burying his stupid face into my neck. That was okay. This is okay. I'm okay. Gaara inhaled deeply and I shuddered, his breath tickling my neck. I could feel sharp teeth scraping against my tender flesh. The hand he wasn't using scraped across my exposed side and I felt the oddest feeling of sharp claws instead of dull fingernails.

What the hell was going on?

There was as shuffle from somewhere from our left and suddenly Gaara was kissing me. It was hard and intense and it knocked my head against the fence behind us. The sand was suddenly gone from my wrist and I curled around Gaara, obediently playing my part. Wrapping my arms around him seemed to fuel him because he suddenly pressed down on my body with his, trapping me in with no means or escape.

I heard the surprised squeak from whoever happened across us and then hurried shuffling that signified that we were alone again. "Alright, Gaara. They're gone," I managed to speak against his lips after pulling away. But he was still smooching my lips and my jaw. "Gaara_, stop," _with a surge of chakra pumped into my hands I was able to shove him back and let out a small little gasp when I did so. Those pretty eyes that I always admired, that reminded me of a sky, were no longer that pretty blue color.

His eyes were a vibrant gold with pupils in the shape of a black four pointed stars and four black dots surrounding it.

_Oh, Jesus Christ. _

I did the first thing I could think of. I punched him in the face.

Hard.

* * *

"Why are you mad at me when _your absolute shield _failed you?"

I hurried to keep up with Gaara's quick paces. He didn't say anything, opting to give me an evil look before looking ahead. "You're so busy rushing to get away from me, you didn't even realize you took a wrong turn!" I shouted at his back. That got him to come to a screeching halt. "Just let me see your face," I quickly ran to his side, reaching forward to grab his bruised face. Gaara scowled harshly down at me and slapped my hands away. I sucked my teeth and went to grab his face again.

"Don't touch me, Xin."

"Stop acting like a child."

"You punched me in the face, I don't want you touching me."

"I panicked! And it's not my fault your demon was raping me!"

"He wasn't raping you, Xin."

"Really? Really? Because from my perspective, it seemed a lot like rape."

We went on like that for several minutes before another shout stopped us. "Who is disturbing the peace?" an older male came from God knows where, eyes narrowed and I suddenly froze when I recognized the figure with a sense of dread settling around me.

My Father.

"Oh, no," I grumbled under my breath weakly as his eyes light up in recognition. This time, I was seriously thinking about jumping the fence and running off, Gaara be damned. This was not the meeting I wanted. Realizing that he was waiting for something, my shoulders slumped. "Hello, Father."

Hiashi approached the two of us, hand reaching out to cup my face. Well, this was new. My Father was never affectionate enough to come into contact with me. I couldn't even tell anyone the last time I hugged the man. Might have been when I was around three or four. Or was that Hinata he hugged?

"What...what are you doing here?" He asked slowly, fingers tightening around my jaw. I glanced behind us and with a curse, realized Gaara had stormed right into Hyuga territory. We were standing outside the gates of the Hyuga compound.

"I'm on a walk with my lovely fiancé," I said slowly, which was the truth. You know, if we left out the surfacing of the Shukaku trying to rape me and the arguing between Gaara and I.

Hiashi looked towards Gaara and frowned. "What happened to his face?" He asked, taking notice of the bruise taking up the side of Gaara's face. I looked at him as well, eyebrows raised with the look that said 'what the hell do you want to tell him?'

When he offered nothing, I found my voice. "He...fell," I lied lamely. I could just feel the glare of Gaara bouncing off the back of my damn head. I said nothing, rolling my bottom lip into my mouth and biting down, trying hard not smile.

"Why don't you heal him?"

I pulled away from my Father's hold and quickly went to Gaara, hand slipping against the bruise. He was giving me a rather evil look but I ignored it as my hand light up. "Ah...um, Gaara, this is my Father, Hiashi," I said slowly. "Father, this is the Kazekage, Gaara."

"It's nice to meet you, sir," Gaara politely spoke against my healing hand. Hiashi seemed startled but nodded slowly. "We're in Konoha because of the finals today. We've had a busy day and only now have been able to come for a visit," He stated simply. My eyes shot up my head and my eyes bulged out of my sockets. He looked down at me, confusion clear in his face. Oh, for fuck's sakes, he didn't know about my strained relationship. Telling myself to remain collected, I whirled around to face my Father.

"If it's not troubling to any of you. I'll understand if it's too late in the evening," I began to say only to slowly stop when Hiashi shook his head.

"You are both welcomed."

Ha, words I've never heard.

We followed Hiashi through the compound with me elbowing Gaara violently. In retaliation, he would throw tiny balls of his sand at the side of my head. While it didn't really hurt, it was annoying as fuck to deal with. This carried on until we reached the manor in which my family resided in. I suppose it was as large as Gaara's home, only it was a traditional home and not modern. It didn't have a second floor, it only stretched from end of the large courtyard to the other end.

I kicked my shoes off and stepped onto the veranda with the help of Gaara's outstretched hand. I figured we didn't have to act as a couple, seeing as how my parents knew of the authenticity of the marriage. However, everyone else besides my grandparents were unaware. So instead, we'd keep the act up. Hiashi called for one of the servants to clear a space for us at the dining table. I grabbed Gaara's arm and leaned up, whispering important information that he would need so we didn't embarrass the living shit out of each other.

We were led to the dining hall where the rest of my family was currently seated, awaiting the arrival of the head of the clan. But once their eyes landed on us, they reacted in shock. Hinata and my Mother, Manami, smiled brightly. My youngest sister, Hanabi, puckered her lips in shock but then smiled softly. My older cousin, Neji, blinked and finally my grandparents simply stared.

Hinata got up first to fly at me, wrapping her arms around me. I laughed nervously but I wrapped my arms around her much like the time she visited me in Suna. Hanabi joined us, carefully approaching us. "Hana," I breathed slowly while coming out Hinata's hug. We were never that close but I loved my little sister all the same. "You've cut your hair," I said softly, inspecting her brown hair fashioned into a short but cute bob. "It's cute, it suits you," I smiled widely while pulling her into a hug.

Manami got up and slowly approached us. Out of the adults in my family, my mother was the nicest to me. I don't think she had it in her to be rude or disgusted. However, she hadn't really been a Mother to me growing up. She was rather weak and fragile and had been bedridden most of my childhood. I was usually too rambunctious and was never really allowed near her.

She looked healthy now and that was a good thing. I slipped out of my sisters' embrace and bowed my head respectfully to her. I heard her sigh softly and felt her hand hovering above my bowed head. I was thrown off guard when she wrapped delicate arms around my shoulders and rested her cheek against my head.

When she released me, her eyes were watery but I said nothing about it. I turned to the remaining members, Neji and my Grandparents. "Hi, Neji," I simply waved at my older cousin, knowing he wasn't one for affections. Neither was I, really. He returned my greeting with a friendly wave.

And finally my grandparents.

Now, I liked my Grandmother. I liked both of my Grandmothers, actually. But my Father's Mother was currently not presence and neither was her husband. That just left me with Kiyone and Minoru. Like I was saying, I liked Kiyone. She was feisty, albeit a little crazy. But not my sort of crazy. Just crazy in Grandmotherly sort of sense. I spent most of my childhood under her watchful eye.

Minoru, on the other hand, well...we just about hated each other.

But I greeted them politely anyway and quickly introduced Gaara to them. Surprisingly, he was very polite towards my family. Which, probably shouldn't be that much of a surprise. His poker face was as good as mine. He carried a conversation well with Hiashi, Neji and Minoru. Of course, that left me to converse with Minami, Kiyone and my sisters. It's not like I hated the women of my immediate family. I loved them, I suppose. Just from a distance. I didn't really know them too well, aside from Kiyone.

Hinata and I also had a good relationship, although it was nothing spectacular. And there really was no relationship to speak of with my mother nor my younger sister. It really didn't bother me but it was rather annoying trying to converse with them.

"Girl," Minoru's booming voice halted any conversation. I pursed my lips and blinked hard, already aware that he was referring to me. I suppose that's what bothered me so much when Gaara would call me 'women'. My name wasn't that hard but for as long as I could remember, I was always 'Girl' to Minoru.

I turned to look at him, lips pursed. "Yes, Oji-San?"

His old eyes swept over my face but his face did not change. "How have you been faring in Suna?" He asked slowly, which surprised me. Why in the seven fucks would he care how I'm doing in Suna? I only squinted my eyes at him. "You haven't brought shame to the Hyuga name, have you?"

Ah, there it is.

"Minoru..." Kiyone began but was silenced by the grave look Minoru shot at her. Kiyone was a feisty old woman but she knew her place. And right now, she was to stay in her place, silent. I only smiled tightly at her before turning back to Minoru.

"I'm surprised you still consider me part of the Hyuga clan." I can tell that dug at him because he scowled at me. I simply smiled innocently and shoved some fish into my mouth. Next to me, Gaara hummed as if all of this was just a regular conversation. "I am marrying Gaara and last time I checked, his last name wasn't Hyuga," I casually pointed out after swallowing my mouthful of fish.

Now that I thought about it, I don't even think Gaara has a last name.

Minoru shot me such a poisonous look, I should've died from it. I only shrugged it off and continued eating like everything was normal. "Not that this wasn't fun—because it totally was," I began to say, pushing myself into a crouch. "But I think it's time Gaara and I got going. His siblings are expecting us."

Which was a complete and utter lie. But they didn't have to know that.

Gaara only glanced over at me before obediently nodding. He stood to his full height and graciously helped me up to my own meager height. Hinata looked like she wanted to object but only smiled sadly before quickly climbing to her feet. She caught me in another hug which I returned. I heard an annoyed huff and suddenly felt Hanabi joining in on the hug. I only quirked a brow. All this attention was...unsettling. But deciding not to hurt either of their feelings, I hugged them back.

Figuring it was enough, I slowly worked myself out of their embrace with a tight smile. I said nothing more to them, opting to turn to my parents and grandparents to respectfully bid them a goodbye. I said goodbye to Neji the same way I greeted him. I waited until Gaara politely bid them all a goodnight before practically dragging him out of the dining hall. I dragged him down long hallways until we finally made it to the front of the manner. I sat down on the edge of the veranda next to Gaara and slipped my sandals on.

We sat on the edge of the veranda for a long time before Gaara stood up first. He reached down to grab my hand, tugging me for a second time to my feet. In the back of my mind I thought of ripping my hand away from him and running the other way. Where would I run to? Certainly not back to the Hyuga manor.

"So, the Shukaku," I finally said after several minutes of us just walking. I probably should have told this idiot that he was going in the wrong way _(again)_ but settled on something else. "Tried to rape me. Care to explain? I know you can at least converse with him," I tried to sound casual. His grip around my hand tightened and for a moment I figured he'd break my fingers. "Gaara," I said simply. I slid enough chakra into my hand and jerked him to a stop, a stern look on my face. "I deserve an explanation."

"Why do you refer to it to it like it's a person? It's a monster."

I shrugged, disinterested. "Cuz' he's an extension of you."

"It finds you...attractive."

And just like the time in the kitchen some weeks ago, I burst into a fit of giggles. If Gaara hadn't been holding my hand, I probably would've dropped to the ground. "Ha...ha..._Oh_, oh God, you're serious," my laughter slowly drew into realization. "What the hell's so attractive about me?" I asked in sheer shock. The Shukaku was a rage monster for God's sake!

"Your insanity."

"Excuse me?"

"And your face, I suppose."

"Are you telling me my insanity is more attractive than my face? Kind of feel a little offended," I said with one hand on my hip. "Ah, nevermind that. So, that obsession with Jura's scent on me, that was just the Shukaku acting through you?"

Gaara looked troubled, like he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He nodded slowly after several minutes of staring at nothing. "And kissing me even though we clearly scared whoever away, that was him?" I continued with my slew of questions. Again, he nodded. I pursed my lips in thought. "It didn't bother you at all, right? The scent of Jura? Or me pushing you away after kissing me? None of that bothered you. It just bothered the other guy, ne?" I tugged impatiently on his arm, wanting an answer.

"Were you expecting a different answer?"

"What?"

"Did you expect that my behavior was my own? Did you think I really cared enough?" He asked, turning cold eyes on me. I only stared back at him, not sure of what to say. Gaara moved closer, caging me against the fence with his arms. Despite the close proximity, I remained calm and returned his icy stare. "Do you remember what I told you when we first met?" Gaara asked slowly. The voice in my head_ (that had been so quiet so far)_ suddenly sprang back to life, hissing dangerously. When I didn't make a move to answer, he repeated the question in a firmer and more stern tone.

"This marriage is a form of business and you will not love me. It's not a marriage of love," I repeated the words he said to me the minute his siblings had left us alone. Back then, those words hadn't bothered me. I found them funny and teased him about it back then. But now, I felt the true bite of those words. I didn't expect Gaara to develop romantic feelings for me. I'm sure he wasn't capable of loving me in that sort of sense. Still...some bond should be formed between us. We're stuck together until one of us keels over and dies. Or until one of us snaps and murders the other.

Perhaps I could blame my pathetic mood on briefly reuniting with my family. Sitting halfway through that dinner served to remind me that I had no place among them. And maybe I was seeking out a place with Gaara, a twisted place, but a place.

Clearly he had different ideas.

"The demon finds your insanity attractive. I do not and never will and it will do you some good to remember that," Gaara continued to speak coldly. I wanted to punch him in his face again. I wanted to hurt him. Who the hell did he think he was? He was just an insane as me.

"_This is your fault, stupid girl," _the voice rang through the left side of my head. _"You've gone and spun a stupid expectation of this man after kissing him," _it reminded me with what I imagined was a sneer. _"He never will love you, Xin. Never, never, never." _

I tried to tune the chanting out but it just seemed to get louder and louder with each passing second. Gaara was still glaring down at me, probably expecting some sort of sarcastic insult or something. Instead, I turned my head to the side with a scowl. "Tch," I huffed, scowling even harder. "Fuck off and give me a break with all that bullshit you're trying to preach. I don't care what you do or think of me," I finally found some sense to snap back at him. I was not his docile and obsessive fans that he treated any way he wanted.

I was a fuckin' murderer. I was an assassin, I was a kunoichi. I was a talented kunoichi with no help from a raging demon sealed inside of me. And I do not back down.

"But what you're not going to do is act like you're better than me when you're just as fucked in the head. At least I have the _balls _to be myself instead of trying to blame everything on a demon. You can try to blame your warped ass mind on the Shukaku all you want but we both know. Naruto had the same upbringing as you, orphaned and hated by the village. But you don't see him running around murdering innocent civilians and shinobi alike," I hissed at him, getting right up in his face.

How the hell had we started fighting like this? Why were we even fighting? When I dragged him out the hotel, I had every intention to have a good time out in Konoha. But no. Nooooo. Nothing can ever go my way, can it? This is life, shitting on my parade. No, this is Karma, actually. This is probably what I get for teasing Matsuri so mercilessly with my breasts.

"You're sadistic _fuck._"

His hand circled around my throat and tightened to slam me against the fence. Stars burst from behind my eyelids and for a minute, I'm seeing two of him. I blinked hard but didn't do much. He wasn't exactly choking me...it was just uncomfortable.

Besides, choking is always a turn on, ne?

"I'm going to kill you one day," He threatened lowly, leaning so close that I could feel his breath fan across my lips. I only grinned at the threat, eyes lighting up as if to say 'try me!'. "You're really trying me, Xin, really trying me," His eyes were dark with violent promises and I felt a spark of excitement begin to sizzle in the center of my chest.

"Ahh, you know the right words to turn me on, don't ya, honey?" I grinned widely just as I swung my leg up into his temple. However, his sand sprang to life and served as his absolute shield. It coiled around the lower half of my leg tightly and I figured there would be a bruise. The sand held me there for several minutes, my foot just centimeters away from denting the side of his head. If I hadn't been so flexible, I figure my leg would be screaming in protest right now. I stared at Gaara, my grin still in place as a fire raged in his eyes.

He was probably annoyed that I punched him earlier and now I was trying to blindside him away with my foot. Well, he was the one trying to choke me out so it was only fair that I retaliate, right? He freed my neck of his uncomfortable grip only to throw me to the side with his bloody sand. I curled into a ball and landed on my feet, sliding backwards just a little bit. I rose on steady feet, feeling the pressure of Byakugan activating. I had yet to fight him or any of his siblings and I had to confess, I was curious of the outcome.

But it was not a fight Gaara was looking for. As usual, he disappeared in a swirl of sand. I stood there for several seconds, staring at the spot he had been standing in. As usual since meeting Gaara, I found myself alone and abandoned. But my mood was suddenly shifted. I was slowly starting to draw Gaara's more violent nature out. And that meant drawing the Shukaku out.

Just like last time, I threw my head back and laughed to the moon.

* * *

I was surprised we didn't immediately set off for Suna the very next morning. I figured with Gaara wanting to come off as a hardworking Kage, we'd be gone from Konoha before the sun had a chance to greet the sky. However, I woke up in the hotel well into the afternoon. "Ah..." I grumbled and rolled out of bed. After abandoning me, I returned to the hotel only to find it empty. Not in the mood to find my future husband and deal with his temper tantrum, I stripped out of my clothes and went straight to bed, thinking we'd leave in the morning.

I rubbed my hand through my hair, digging past the thick locks to scratch at my scalp. My leg and my throat was killing me and when I looked down, I realized that my leg had bruised up just like I imagined it would. The bruise started from ankle and ended just at the middle of my calf. It was a bright purple, standing out against my pale skin obnoxiously. Sighing in distaste, I reached up to prod at my sensitive neck, knowing it was in a much similar state.

"Does this count as spousal abuse?" I grumbled to myself just as my door flew open. At first I figured it was just Gaara and didn't bother to say anything or even look in his direction. What did I care if he saw me in my undergarments? They weren't even my sexiest pair, so I thought nothing of it. I heard a strange noise and finally glanced up into the shocked face of Jura and Kankuro. I'm pretty sure the strange noise came from Jura. I said nothing, staring back at them with raised eyebrows. This wasn't really a reaction I was hoping to get out any boy. Even if it was just Kankuro and Jura.

"What's the matter with you two?" I heard Temari but didn't see her. I figured the four of them had probably come to check on me seeing as how I usually didn't sleep this late in the day. Instead of Gaara coming in first, which would have made sense, Kankuro and Jura came in.

Idiots.

"Nothing!" they claimed together but Kankuro moved. He took one step into the room in order to grab the door knob and quickly slammed it. I heard more muffled questions but didn't move from where I was stood stupefied. The door opened once more and this time Gaara came in. He took one look at me, bored eyes roving from the top of my messy head down to my black-painted toenails before slamming the door much like his brother did.

Moments later, in the next room, I heard a lot of banging and Jura screaming his apologies. Blinking, I quickly retreated to the bathroom to lock myself in there. Well. That was strange.

Shrugging it off _(or at least trying to, the voice was back and wouldn't shut up about it)_ I quickly healed the bruises _(the one around my neck was as bad as I_ _assumed)_ and took a shower. When I was finished, I made sure that it was safe to dig through my bag in just my towel for some clothes.

I pulled the mesh-armored tank top _(that was more mesh than it was cloth)_ on along with a pair of casual pants that bunched up at the middle of my calves. I twisted my hair into a thick bun on the top of my head and strapped myself with my holster, weapons and medical pouch.

Wanting to get the awkward meeting over with, I left the hotel room in favor of Temari and Jura's hotel room. My companions were scattered around the living room. Gaara was sitting near the window, looking less than pleased, Temari was trying hard to remain serious but was failing and stifling giggles. Interestingly enough, Jura and Kankuro were strung up to the ceiling by the ankles, sand coiled tightly around them.

They were both sporting bruises on their faces and I figured Gaara probably threw them into something. I felt a little bad for them. It wasn't their fault I tended to sleep almost or completely naked. I felt more for Jura. If it had just been Kankuro, I'm sure Gaara wouldn't have cared enough. But with Jura there, he had to make it seem like he was my overprotective hubby, simply doing his job.

"Uh, hi," I greeted lamely, getting everyone's attention. Temari was the only one who vocally greeted me, giggles and all. "Um..." I tilted my head back to look at the dangling idiots. "Gaara? Maybe you should let them down? The blood rushing to their heads is probably making them dizzy..."

The redhead didn't say anything, turning evil eyes on me. I'm sure he was still miffed about last night but had to put on his act. He lifted a hand and lazily beckoned for me. Resisting the urge to sigh, I quickly crossed the room to sit on the arm of the chair. Like clockwork, his arm linked around my waist possessively.

His eyes flickered up to his victims and the sand was gone, allowing them to crash to the floor. "Oh my God," I grumbled, hoping they didn't break anything. I almost got up to check on them but thought better of it. They should probably learn how to knock. "Shouldn't you be with your team?" I asked as they managed to right themselves. Kankuro eased over to me carefully, asking me to heal his bruised face. Jura didn't move at all, he didn't even look in my direction and I almost laughed. I leaned forward, balanced by Gaara's grip and began healing his brother's face.

"Nah, Hideki, Ukyo and Usui are resting before we leave tomorrow," Kankuro said as my chakra soothed his face. He relaxed within my touch and I almost laughed at the stupid expression he wore. When he was finished, I suggested to heal Jura's bruises. At first, he refused my kind gesture. But Gaara sent him a look that told him to get his ass into gear and he all but scrambled in front of me. I shot Gaara reprimanding look but said nothing else in favor of healing the bruised shinobi.

"We were thinking you could take us to that ramen stand today. Temari and Lord Kazekage haven't been there yet and they don't believe us when we say the ramen is pretty damn good," Jura said around my hands. I rolled my lips and quirked my eyebrows.

Knew they'd love Ichiraku's.

When I was finished healing Jura, I herded them all out of the hotel in favor of the ramen stand. Much like Jura and Kankuro, Temari and Gaara hadn't thought much of the plain stand but I simply let the ramen do the talking. Neither of them admitted it but I knew they loved it too.

I spoke with the old man and his daughter a little bit before I allowed the foursome to drag me off. I basically took them on a tour of Konoha. I showed them everything Konoha had to offer from the Hokage's Monument to the Forest of Death, which hadn't really brought pleasant memories for the Sand Siblings. I didn't even bother to ask.

Of course we ran into the Rookie Nine of my year, plus Team Gai. They had all showed their excitement in seeing me in different ways. It was...good to see them all, I suppose. The kids I had grown up with from academy days until we all began going our separate ways and taking different paths in our careers.

I didn't...I didn't miss them.

Well, I suppose I missed them to some extent but I wasn't...sad when it was time to say my goodbyes again. When I had decided to become an ANBU member that took on gruesome missions, I had already began to extract myself from the group of friends I had spent so much time with. I really didn't know them as well as I should have. Which was funny because my sister and my cousin was in the group.

"Oi, Xin?"

"Hmm?"

We were on our way back to the hotel. While Kankuro and his team would be leaving tomorrow, we would be leaving in the early evening. I'm not sure why Gaara waited so late in the day to decide to go home but I didn't question it.

"Where's your team?"

I almost stopped dead in my tracks. Now...that was not something that needed to be discussed in front of Jura. I bit my bottom lip so hard it almost bled. Jura was looking at me, eyes wide with unanswered questions. I should have known someone would ask about that since we met everyone else and their teams.

"Six feet under," I stated grimly. I could see the horror in Jura's eyes and the curiosity in everyone's eyes. I already knew the unspoken question that was bound to come up soon. How did they die? Or...why didn't you die along with them? Or something along those line. "They've been dead for two years now."

"Ah...I'm sorry, I didn't know..."

"Don't be, how could you have known?"

The walk back the rest of the way was completely silent. I half expected one of them to ask how my team had met their end but none of them did. And I suppose I was glad for that. It really wasn't a story I wanted to tell any of them. Not now or ever.

_'Wouldn't want them to know you murdered them all, eh?'_

* * *

Whisper: No, you know what, that's totally okay cuz' no one ever seems to get my Lana Del Rey references! The title of the story should pull a reader just as much as the summary, I suppose lol. Do you have any other favorite songs by her? I'm going to her concert on June 6th, actually!

BrokenSouloftheDarkness: YOU LIKE THE PRETTY RECKLESS TOO!?

Afaaf: This update is a little over due but I hope you enjoyed, yeah?

Apollo Child1512: I hope I'm not introducing the romance too fast, you know. Still want them to hate each other, guess they're just like, experimenting. I can't wait until I get to the point were Xin realizes it all, that should be funny.

Akari: Yes, and another kiss this chapter too! Kinda short though, more to come! I think the Shukaku and the Voice would get along easier but they would still probably bicker just like their hosts, lol. Oh yeah, totally, you never quite get the full story when you watch the anime versus reading the manga. Nalu has a lot more development in the manga but the anime does have its moments lol. But you know, it's totally okay not to like Nalu, I understand even though I ship it like holy shit.

DreamingofSweets: Did you like the little tidbit of meeting with Itachi and Kankuro wigging out about it? lol.

ArtemisKirara7: Okay, listen here, I wrote the first fic when I was like 12-13, I was young and stupid let's not even talk about it lol. I'd love to just delete but I'm a little attached to it, I guess. I dunno, maybe I can rewrite them both but they're both horrible. I'm better now lol

I never intended for Xin to interact with anyone from Konoha, the original plan was for her to avoid everyone in Konoha and kind of just hide out. But I wanted to show just how distanced and different she is from her peers and family. I also wasn't going to have Gaara and Xin argue like that, they usually just have violent and funny banter but this time I kind of wanted them to hurt one another. I suppose to show how much they need each other and yet they're being stubborn about it.

This update is a little late, sorry about that. I just debate with myself about a lot of things happening in this fic. But anyway, hope you guys liked it. Review and all!


	9. I don't think life is quite that simple

Our return to Suna went without a hitch. Jura was unnaturally quiet and I wasn't sure if it was because I told him my teammates are dead or if it's because he saw me undressed. I was starting to think it was both. He really hadn't offended me when he asked where my teammates was and I wasn't that bothered that he saw me undressed.

My team was dead, they've been dead since I was sixteen. They were never coming back and I've accepted that. I loved them and I missed them but it didn't bother me to mention they were dead. Explaining how they died was a completely different story and I was not going to go down that road.

And as for seeing me undressed, well, it could have been a lot worse. I could have been completely naked. I don't get why he was so embarrassed. Well maybe he wasn't embarrassed, maybe he was just scared.

I honestly don't know what crawled up Gaara's ass and died but whatever it was, it fucked his mood up. I couldn't tell if he hated the living shit out of me or wanted to fuck the living shit out of me. I mean I know he blamed all that weird shit back in Konoha on the Shukaku...but still something about his behavior just didn't sit right with me. The looks he kept sending to Jura were unsettling.

I sure as hell wasn't going to ask about it though. The last time I questioned anything he was doing, he tried to choke the shit out of me. I mean, choking could be a turn on but seeing as how he was trying to kill me, it kind of killed the moment. Well...that was still kind of a turn on.

Wait, what was I talking about again?

The voice sighed in exasperation just as we landed in a clearing. We were on the very edge of the forest and if I wandered too far, I'd be in Suna's territory. Kind of funny how our villages were so close and yet I never stepped foot in Suna before.

Of course I settled down with Gaara, laying myself across his lap and idly reading a scroll I stole from his pack. I wasn't even sure about what the hell I was reading. I was kind of just staring at the scroll and thinking of other things. I chanced a look at him to see his eyes were closed. I guess he was trying to rest? I wasn't really sure, I never actually saw him take a nap or sleep. I'm not even sure where he went while I slept in the hotel's bed. Whenever I woke up he was always just awake.

"Gaara..." I poked at his leg. I hope he still wasn't upset over our spat. Not because I worried for his feelings about what I said or anything. I just needed someone to talk to. Jura seemed like he was out of the question lest I wanted Gaara to toss him off into the night. And Temari...well, she seemed busy sharpening her kunai.

Gaara cracked one eye open to look down at me, grunting. I shifted around until I was laying across his lap on my back. I reached up to his arms folded across his chest and pulled one of his hands down to my head. Something a couple would do, I figured. "Do you ever sleep?" I asked quietly as I nudged his hand. He seemed to get the idea because he sank his fingers into my hair, scratching at my scalp. I shivered in delight and closed my eyes, savoring the feeling.

"Sometimes, not often..." his deep voice lulled me like some twisted lullaby. "I have better control over the Shukaku but sometimes it's a force of habit not to get any sleep," He confessed just as quietly. Ah, that couldn't be healthy.

"So you have insomnia then?"

"That's one way to put it."

"Maybe I can do something with my medical ability, create a strong sleeping agent for you or something. Well, if you want. You need the proper amount of sleep to function like a normal person," I told him. I don't know why I was being so nice and cordial.

I think he was confused as well.

* * *

Things went back to normal once we got back to Suna. We bickered relentlessly about the smallest things and acted like a couple in public. It was...exhausting, to say the least. It made me wonder if Gaara was slowly getting fed up with it as well.

"So, how exactly does one draw the Shukaku out?"

Gaara glanced up at me, a slightly disturbed look in his eyes. I was perched on the very edge of his desk, legs folded and armed with an egg-roll. "I'm going to go against my better judgment and ask why would you even need to know something like that?"

I grinned and dug into the takeout bag for another egg-roll to hand to him. The longer I hung around the redhead, the more I was noticing his unhealthy work habits. He often forgo the thought of food or sleep in order to get work done. It was great and everything that he was so hardworking...but at the cost of his health? I figured as a medic it was only right to step in and make sure he gets the proper nutrients.

Not because I cared.

Anyway, getting him to actually eat was easy enough. Whenever I took my lunch break from the Hospital, I came to his office armed with whatever I was going to eat and simply annoyed him enough to force him into eating. And when that failed and he was being particularly stubborn, I snatched whatever he was working on away.

Sleeping was a whole different story.

"Well, he's the biggest reason why you don't sleep, right?" I asked innocently. I wasn't going to tell him that I was curious about his demon and I wanted to actually have a conversation with it. If that did ever come to be, I hope he wasn't pissed that I punched him in the face.

I panicked, okay?

"Getting no sleep is not healthy, you know? It's how your body rests and recuperates. If you keep carrying on the way you do, I won't be surprised if I come in here and you're passed out from exhaustion or something. You did say you have better control now, right?"

Gaara nodded slowly, carefully eating the egg-roll. He was still convinced I would end up poisoning him via food. It was kind of funny, actually. I mean, I did tell him poisoning him would be too boring. Killing Gaara should go out with a bang.

"Better than I did when I was younger, yes."

This time I nodded, playing with one of his writing utensils. "You—" I began to say only to pause when a knock resounded at the door. I huffed, slightly irked at the interruption and wondered who the fuck was it this time. The door was opened and Matsuri slipped in. Her eyes roved over the two of us and I noticed her lips twitching into a pout. Ignoring the pout, I openly stared at her. She was covered in grime and dirt and I could see a hasty bandage sloppily tied around her thigh. I knew I was supposed to be this kind and sweet woman, but my real personality slipped through the cracks. "What the fuck happened to you?"

"Xin."

"Sorry but look at her. She looks like she was chewed up and spit out into a pile of shit, I mean honestly! Do you need help, child? Do you need assistance? I mean I'm on lunch right now but I will soo assist you—what? I am on break!"

Matsuri sighed long and hard and I glanced down at my half eaten egg-roll. Shrugging, politeness be damned, I shoved the roll into my mouth and hopped off the desk. I approached the younger brunette and nearly recoiled at the scent wafting from her. "Jesus Christ, did you actually bathe in a pile of shit?"

"Xin, either do your job or leave."

Matsuri regarded me with tired eyes but I simply motioned for her to follow me towards the couch. She collapsed on the couch with all the grace of an elephant. I knelt next to her legs and cut through the bandages slowly only to jump back when something spurted from her leg. It was a mix of her blood and some type of white puss. I stared down at the gaping hole _(it was an actual fuckin' hole in her leg, I could see bone)_ in her leg with tightly pressed lips. "Uh, were you by any chance, oh I dunno, poisoned?" I asked blankly, scowling at the putrid smell of rotten and poisoned flesh.

Matsuri mumbled something slowly and I had two seconds to jump backwards before she emptied the contents of her stomach all over the floor and her legs. "Oh, _fuck no_. I am not healing—" I shook my head only to stop when Gaara glared harshly at me. He was up in seconds, rounding his desk to come over to Matsuri.

"Do your job."

"Fuck you, she just threw up all over herself. Are you kidding me? Take her to the hospital."

"Why would I do that when I have a fuckin' medic right here now?"

"Because she just threw up all over herself, that's why!"

"Heal her right now or I swear..."

"Alright, fine! But if I throw up because of her vomit, I'm making damn sure I'm puking on you."

I glared hatefully at him and quickly knelt by her to quickly heal her. The putrid smell of her body odor mixed with her vomit almost made me keel over. You'd think I'd be able to deal with a little of vomit by now but nope. Nope, not at all. I held my hand over her wound, ready to seal it close but noticed something at the last second. I could see something wriggling in her leg. It looked like the end of a worm or something. Quickly grabbing the kunai I cut her bandages with, I slammed it into her and pulled down.

Matsuri screamed bloody murder and I think Gaara went to actually kill me. "She has a parasite in her!" I waved my hand in his face before plunging my fingers into her fresh wound. My fingers closed around the wriggling creature and I quickly jerked it out, hand decorated in blood and that white puss. Matsuri looked like she would pass out as the parasite wriggled in my hand. It had the body of a worm but had a weird mouth rimmed with rather sharp looking teeth. I threw it at Gaara, disgusted by it and turned back to Matsuri. Finally I slapped both hands over her gushing wound and pumped my chakra into her flesh.

Her skin stitched itself closed underneath my hands and it wasn't long until I rocked backwards on my heels. I checked her over for any other wounds but gave up, realizing I would be unable to find anything under all that dirt and grime caked over her like second skin. "Is her home close?"

Gaara glanced at me, he somehow encased the parasite in a glass container. I thought to ask him where the fuck he got that container but chalked it off. "I can't properly check over her with all this bullshit on her. I need to get her cleaned."

Gaara nodded and I watched as he easily lifted his half dead student. I followed him obediently to her home via rooftops to avoid the hustle and bustle of the village. Matsuri had passed out sometime during our travels and was unconscious when we made it to her home. It was small and void of life, which I thought was strange. The voice in my head snidely told me to mind my business as I found my way to her bathroom. Instructing Gaara to set her into the tub, I leaned over and turned on her shower.

The force of the hot water hitting her full force in the face had her sputtering awake. If Gaara hadn't been standing over me, I probably would have laughed. Instead, I started to scrub at her body, watching as the grime slowly left her body.

Once I deemed her cleaned enough, I found several more infected gashes. I cleaned those out with rubbing alcohol found in her medicine cabinet and then healed them. She had smaller scratches here and there but I left those alone. I wasn't going to waste my chakra on the unnecessary scratches. Once I was finished and deemed her well enough, I stood slowly. "Do you still have the parasite or did you leave it at the office?"

Gaara only nodded towards the living room, I assumed. I looked back at Matsuri. "Alright, kid, pull your big girl panties on and suck it up. You're fine," I told her rather dully. She regarded me with tired eyes. "Well, you're alive. Get yourself together." I left without saying anything else. Five or ten minutes later, Gaara came after me. He looked at me and I only shrugged. "We should go take a look at that thing," I stated simply with a hand on my hip. Nodding slowly and with one last glance towards the bathroom, we left.

The parasite was trying to break free of its prison when we got back. Or maybe it was just mindlessly ramming its head against the container for fun, I don't know. Either way, I picked it up and examined it with a disgusted frown. "Can't find these in Suna," I said after long minute of staring at it. It was a dull pink color with beady black eyes that stared up at me mindlessly. I only flipped the container, watching in amusement as it fumbled about inside.

"How do you figure?"

"I've seen these things before, they're poisonous creatures. Shizune asked me to collect one for her once when I was fourteen. Freaked me the fuck out when it latched onto my hand, I fell into the lake because of that. Anyway, their saliva is laced with poison. They bite down on their victim and pump them with poison. They're small but dangerous if enough poison is administered."

Gaara was quiet during my explanation. "And they sometimes burrow their way into their victims. Only if there's an opening for them, they're not really powerful enough to make a sizable wound to crawl in. They either enter through the mouth, ears, nose or they're forced in by another party."

He was quiet for a long time as I tortured the parasite. "You think someone placed it inside her?" Gaara asked, eyes flickering in a strange way. They didn't flicker in the sense of the Shukaku resurfacing. They flickered with some unknown emotion. Something tugged at me. He hadn't shown any concern when I told him about surviving an explosion tag to the face. He hadn't even batted an eyelash. But here comes Matsuri, infested with a creature and throwing up all over the place and suddenly he wants to feel a certain way.

I had half a mind to shove this worm down his throat.

"Most likely. Whoever was responsible of wounding her in the first place. Was she out on a mission recently?" I asked while flipping the container. Gaara only looked at me, eyes narrowed in a warning. He'd probably would be pissed if I dropped it.

"She and a team were out on a mission in Kiri," He told me, eyes roving over the parasite. I didn't say anything for a moment, lips twisted up in thought.

Ah, of course Kiri.

"I probably should go check on her team and see if they have any suspicious wounds leaking with puss or worms eating their insides, eh?" I grinned at the disgusted look he shot me. "Here, take care of this, will ya? I'll probably extract poison from it later," I casually tossed the container towards him, watching as his sand closed around it.

I left before he could reprimand me for my casual behavior. Once I got to the hospital, I quickly found the rest of Matsuri's team. Hatsune and another shinobi named Ru looked a lot better than Matsuri and I realized that they hadn't been infected the same was as Matsuri.

"My lady," they both chorused together as I sunk down in the chair across from them. I only smiled kindly back at them and nodded my head in a greeting. "Is there something we can assist you with today?" Ru asked in a soft voice. I glanced at him, taking in his appearance. He was a bit smaller than Jura with thick and tousled dirty blond hair. His eyes were a black abyss and there was a certain air of sadness that hung around him. He really didn't seem fit for the shinobi way.

"Actually, could you tell me about your mission?"

Hatsune's face twisted up. "That's confidential, my lady. As you know, we're usually not allowed to discuss the details of our mission with anyone else besides the Kazekage," she spoke, sounding like some mindless drone with too much information shoved into her head.

Again, I nodded. "I understand that and good for you for following the rules," I hummed, ignoring her narrowed eyes. "But it seems something is complicating your mission and I have information that could help. However, I need to know what exactly happened."

"Is Matsuri alright?" Ru spoke up, brushing shaggy bangs out of his face. Honestly, a haircut wouldn't hurt the kid. It might toughen his look up. He looked way too soft. If I so much as glared at him, he'd probably cry. I kind of wanted to hug him and just whisper that everything would be okay. Yes, I'm aware that it sounded creepy.

I drummed my finger against my thigh. "That depends. Did anything strange happen to her during the mission? You run into anybody out of ordinary?" I asked casually. I could just see the torment in the shinobi's face. Next to him, Hatsune looked angry but worried.

"We ran into this man, he was dressed in all black," Ru began, ignoring the look Hatsune was throwing his way. "He seemed kind of out of it but kept mumbling that it was all a lie. He attacked the three of us but didn't do a lot of damage, just stabbed Matsuri. He was fixated with her wound and I think he stabbed her a second time in the same spot."

Well, obviously that's how the parasite got into her.

"Stop," I held up a hand and casually folded my legs. "Why didn't Matsuri come to the hospital first before trying to report to Gaara?" I asked, frowning. She was obviously the one who needed medical attention. These two seemed to come out with just scrapes and bruises. I wondered what would have happened if I was at the office when Matsuri came in there smelling like a dead body. She probably would have choked on her vomit and then eaten alive by the parasite. Or she would died from the poison in her.

"We tried to talk her into coming to the hospital first but she insisted that she had to talk to the Kazekage. She said her leg really didn't bother her that much and she would get it healed after speaking with Kazekage-Sama," Ru admitted with a frown. "My lady, is she alright?"

"She'll live. I took care of her," I reassured them both of Matsuri's well-being. "She's either resting or on her way to speak with Gaara again. Kind of tough, isn't she?" I hummed them with little enthusiasm. I looked over them once more before nodding and then standing. "You two can leave, you're fine. Thank you for your cooperation."

The two hurried out in favor of finding Matsuri. I watched them go, frowning softly. A man in black shows up mumbling that it's all a lie? Well, if that's not a red flag, I don't know what is. This certainly was troublesome.

However, I couldn't dwell much on it. I had a baby to deliver, apparently.

* * *

"Stop giving me that look."

I blankly sipped from my Styrofoam cup of coffee as Jura continued to regard me with a disturbed expression. I only rolled my eyes and looked down at the medical report I brought along from my medic's office. During the birth of a newborn, Jura had rudely barged into the room and got an eyeful of where babies come from. I suppose it was just too much for him to bare and he ended up passing out. Honestly, who passes out at the sight of a newborn being born? It was natural.

"You women are _freaks," _He hissed at me with a wide eyed look. He tightly pressed his lips together while I laughed. "What kind of being can survive another human being ripped from inside them like that? I saw the head, Xin, _the head_."

I snorted into my coffee. Did he not realize that women were far superior to men? They were all big and bad until they suffered from a common cold or a paper cut. God, were they useless sissies. Not only did women have to deal with childbirth, we also had things like periods.

"Women, that's what kind. Didn't your parents tell you about all the wonders of childbirth?" I asked innocently as I scribbled something down in my report. "It is a miracle, you know."

"Why, Xin, why? Why would they tell me about any of that? That's fuckin' disgusting."

"It's not disgusting, Jura, it's a miracle."

"I saw a head coming out of a vagina. That's not a miracle."

"Men are wimps."

Jura shot a glare my way but I innocently continued sipping my coffee. Minutes clocked by before he was opening his big mouth. "When will you and Kazekage-Sama have children?" He asked with a slightly horrified tone, like he just realized that I was fully capable of having children. I glanced up, eyebrow quirked.

What a lovely question, indeed. Having children with that redheaded fuck meant having sex with him. While I found the man sinfully attractive, I had no intentions of sharing a bed with him in that type of sense. We'd probably try to murder each other in the middle of fuckin' one another. Which was kind of funny in a sort of sense that wasn't really funny.

However, I wouldn't be surprised if his council began pushing for the notion of a child sometime in the future. The thought of actually giving birth didn't bother me. It was the maternity leave that would bother me. Obviously if I was pregnant, I wouldn't be allowed to do anything strenuous. Like going on missions. And even after I had the kid, I couldn't go right back out.

I'd have to stay home and care for the supposed gift while Gaara was free to rule or whatever the fuck he wanted to do. In some way, having children could be career-ending. I'd be damned if I allowed Gaara's spawn to ruin my career. Wow, that sounded pretty harsh, didn't it? And whose to say I wouldn't end up like my Mother? Having children nearly killed her. Her body simply wasn't meant to carry children. Obviously, she somehow managed but it left her weakened to the point of being bedridden for the majority of my childhood.

"We haven't really talked about that," I said, which was the truth. The two of us could barely hold a civilized conversation without threatening each other. Why would either of us even think to bring up a child? We wouldn't. "We're still early on in our relationship, we're taking a risk by marrying young. I think we can hold off for a couple of years."

Jura nodded sagely. "How long have you two been dating?"

Well, shit. Temari didn't say anything about making up when we started to date. I groaned at the thought of more lying and made a memo. "Sometime right before he was made Kazekage. The relationship was much easier to maintain back then."

"So, two years, then?"

I shrugged one my shoulder. "Yeah, I'd say right about then. We were both sixteen, my team was still alive when we met. We tried to kill each other. I tried to break his leg and he tried to choke me with his sand—" I paused when I noticed Jura's expression. "Our mission screwed their mission up. My team had a mission to assassinate someone, they were supposed to protect them. It was love at first sight, really."

"You two sure are twisted."

"Ah, you have no idea..."

* * *

"So, if anyone asks, that's how we met."

Gaara warily regarded me over dinner that same night. I only quirked an eyebrow with a frown. "Why would you come up with such a...violent meeting?" Kankuro asked slowly as he reached for another rice-ball. I only frowned harder and tilted my head to the side.

"Because we're violent individuals?"

"Xin, you're not supposed to—"

I only huffed. "Listen, just because you guys are trying to cover him up does not mean I agreed to have my personality covered up. I agreed to this sham of a marriage, not covering up who I am. I'm a kunoichi before anything and I'm not sure about you guys, but kunoichi are capable of murder."

The table was silent for several seconds before Temari managed to remember something. "Gaara said something about Matsuri's mission being complicated?" She raised her blonde brows at me. I blinked and puckered my lips. Ah, I forgot all about that.

"Oh. Yeah. Hatsune and Ru told me about their mission. Said a man in black appeared, muttering 'it's a lie'. Sound familiar?" I asked casually, drinking my coffee. Gaara eyed the cup of coffee warily, probably wondering how many cups I've had for the day. I think this was the fifth cup.

"You think he has something to do with the group running around Suna?" Temari asked with curiosity in her eyes. I only leaned my elbow against the table to support my face. A sarcastic reply found its way rolling off my tongue but I quickly shut my mouth.

Holding the sarcastic reply off, I replied more calmly. "I'm assuming so. It's the only thing I can think of," I said with a shrug. Let it be known that it took everything in me to keep that sarcastic comment to myself. Because, really, Temari? Really? Who else is trying to kill us? Who else is running around accusing us of lying about our marriage?

Even though we are lying.

"Why would they attack Matsuri's team so far from Suna?" Kankuro piped up for the first time since he's gotten home. Or maybe I just wasn't paying him any mind. Sometimes I thoughtlessly tuned Kankuro out.

"Because they were in Kiri. That place is perfect for breeding those parasites, they thrive in watery atmospheres. Suna is well...a desert. Only thing thriving out here are cacti," I stated casually with a bored wave of my hand. The table was quiet for several seconds before I snapped my fingers. "Ah! Almost forgot," I got up and ran to my abandoned pouch thrown on the couch in the living room. I came back armed with a medium-sized vial filled with very light blue liquid.

"Ta-Da!" I grinned, dropping back down in my chair. I slapped the vial down on the table, nearly cracking it in my excitement. It was silent still as the three siblings glanced between the vial and myself with questionable looks.

Temari looked at her brothers and rolled her eyes. "What is that, Xin?" She asked after a long pause. She reached across the table and picked up the vial to bring it up to her eyes. The older blonde studied the vial but frowned at me.

"Gaara told me he has insomnia cuz' lately I was wondering if he ever got any sleep. He's always at the office and while that's great that he has a great work ethic and all—his sleep schedule sucks. So, being the perfect fianceé that I am, I decided to make something to battle the insomnia."

Temari nodded and carefully handed it to her youngest brother. He unscrewed the vial and took a wary sniff only to recoil away. I rolled my eyes at his dramatics. Well, what did he expect it to smell like? Sakura Blossoms? Medicine is always horrible.

"What's it made out of?"

"Well, I extracted some of the poison from the para—"

"You're trying to poison our brother?"

I sighed heavily at the reactions I was getting. Gaara looked like he was about to dump the liquid out, Kankuro looked like he was about to sic his creepy ass puppet on me and Temari just looked disturbed. I only rubbed my forehead. Good Lord...did they really think I would poison Gaara after all this time?

"After all this time you'd think I would really try to poison you? Didn't you already accuse me of trying to poison you? Why would I poison you?" I asked in exasperation. "Didn't you three learn about poison at all in your academy days or your Genin days? Small doses of poison can be used as battling agents against diseases, if used correctly."

Uneducated swines.

I continued to massage my head, trying to battle the irritated headache coming on. So much for just trying to be nice. Maybe I should attempt to murder him just so they could get all their accusations and insults out now.

"Well, that's thoughtful of you. But did you try it out to make sure it's effective?" Kankuro asked. Finally, they were asking some good questions instead of accusing me of murder.

"Yep. Why do you think you haven't seen Hideki all day?"

"...You...you poisoned my student?"

"No, I simply put him to sleep in a safe and controlled manner."

"What's the matter with you? Seriously, who does that?"

"Jura was the one who suggested Hideki. Personally I thought Hatsune would've been a great test subject."

"What do you have against my students?"

I laughed at that. "Hatsune is the one who tried to kill me. Twice."

"She did no such thing."

"Clearly you don't understand how crazy girls can be."

The conversation ended with a few sarcastic jabs before Temari ordered us to peacefully finish our dinner or else she'll beat the shit out of us with her giant fan. I swear, she was the most violent peaceful person I knew. Gaara was put on dish-duty, which I thought was kind of funny. I mean, the 'Demon of the Sand', the fearsome Kazekage, standing in the kitchen with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows washing dishes? It was so...normal.

Not to mention he looked great with his sleeves rolled up.

Ah...anyway...

I scrapped the remains from dinner into some Tupperware to store in the fridge before handing him the dirty dishes. "You know, you don't have to take the medicine if you don't feel like you need it. Or trust it," I said after a long silence filled with clinking dishware.

He didn't say anything for a good three minutes and I figured he wouldn't bother. Well, surprise, surprise. "Why did you feel the need to go through the trouble of making this for me?" Gaara asked, kind of surprising me. He hadn't said much about the medicine.

I shrugged at the question. "Iunno," I blew at a strand of hair that fell into my line of vision. "I just figured getting some sleep wouldn't hurt you, if you have control of the Shukaku now. Sleep is important, you know? If you pass out, then what?"

"Like you did?"

"First of all, I used up all of my Chakra. That doesn't count. You forgo sleep all together."

"What about all that coffee you drink? That doesn't help you sleep, last time I checked."

"When did we start talking about me? This is about you and not getting sleep. I was just trying to be nice but I said you don't have to take it if you don't trust it."

"You mean if I don't trust you."

I stopped doing whatever I was doing, gripping the counter with a long sigh. "What are we talking about, Gaara? Are we even talking about your horrible work habits? Or are we just going to argue about who knows what?"

"You're the one speaking on thinly veiled emotions."

Turning to him, I frowned. "You think I care if you trust me or not? Whether you trust me or not has nothing to do with me and my feelings, I really don't give a shit. Like I said, I was being nice. If you take it fine, if you don't, fine. I sleep at night."

"_Why are you offended, girl?" _the voice suddenly sparked to life. I resisted the urge to groan, the last thing I wanted was to argue with the disembodied voice. _"He's only speaking the truth. You're the one who got offended and jumped to conclusions. He asked you a simple question. You're the one in your feelings just because he doesn't fully trust you. Can you blame him? You are a loose cannon and you constantly threaten to kill or harm him." _

I scoffed, offended. 'Whose side are you on?' I thought back to the voice, forgetting that I shouldn't even converse with the voice.'You know what, doesn't matter. You're not even real. Fuck off.'

"_You're stupider than I originally thought." _

A wet finger brushing against my cheek jerked me out of my internal argument with the voice that shouldn't exist. I glanced at Gaara, slightly surprised that he had even made contact with me. He always kept his distance when we were in the privacy of his home. "It was a kind gesture."

Kind, but not kind enough to gain your trust.

* * *

"Do I have to get a shot, Xin?"

I only quirked an eyebrow down at Hideki. It was nearly a month after being promoted to a Chūnin along with is teammate Ukyo. Kankuro had sent them my way in order for a checkup that was long overdue. "Are you trying to tell me you're scared of needles, Hideki?" I asked slowly with humor leaking out of my eyes. The younger shinobi shifted awkwardly and then pouted childishly. "Needles during a health exam is the least of your worries. You know I was stabbed in the face by a poisoned needle?"

Hideki went pale and I laughed. "No, you don't need a needle. It's only to check if you're fit, you know, eye exam, hearing exam, checking your breathing. Stuff like that," I waved off his worries as I clicked my pen two times before setting it down.

He seemed a little embarrassed but we got the exam going and he passed with no trouble. "Will you send Ukyo in?" I hummed after he slid off the metal table. He nodded and politely offered a goodbye before leaving my office.

"Good afternoon, my Lady," Ukyo came in only seconds later. She and their other teammate, Usui, were twins. Ukyo was the more calm and collected one compared to Usui's brash and loud attitude. Kind of reminded me of my own sister and I. She had thick curly hair that was such a deep brown it almost seemed like a dark orange and the darkest blue eyes I'd ever seen in my life. Honestly, Ukyo didn't really seem like a kunoichi despite easily outsmarting and beating her opponent during the Chūnin Exams.

"Ukyo, nice to see you. Congratulations on your promotion, how are you doing?" I asked kindly with a smile. I hadn't the chance to congratulate her back in Konoha but she didn't seem to mind. She returned my smile, albeit shyly.

She brushed a hand through her thick hair. "Thank you, my lady, it's lovely to see you. I'm doing just fine," She answered. For a moment, I saw my old teammate in her, politeness, shy smiles and all. A sense of sadness overcame me as I thought about my former teammate but I quickly shook the feeling away. She was long dead and I had already accepted the death.

"Good, good. I still need to check your sight and hearing. Things to make sure you can properly function on these missions. They're a little more dangerous than D-ranked missions, you know?" I hummed simply before getting on with her Exam.

Just like Hideki, her exam went smoothly and I was ready to send her on her way. However, she stopped at the door, hand gripping the handle. I titled my head to the side, noticing her stiff demeanor. Glancing at the rest of my appointments for the day, I was nearly due for my lunch break and figured whatever was bothering her wouldn't take too long.

"Ukyo, is something bothering you?"

She suddenly spun around on me and I nearly jumped back. "Ah...um, my Lady? How...how long did it take you to become a medical ninja?" She asked with this weird fidget. I frowned, she was too much like my sister and old teammate. It was too disturbing.

Trying to remember, I pursed my lips. "Ah, I'd say a little over a year? Almost two years, maybe. I trained under Tsunade, the Sannin, you know? And her apprentice, Sakura, helped me a lot as well," I tapped my chin in thought. It probably would have taken much longer if Sakura hadn't helped me study. The girl was just a natural and she really didn't get the credit she deserved—what with being on the same team as an Uchiha, a Bijuu and a Genius.

Ukyo nodded thoughtfully before her face twisted in determination. "Would you...would you be willing to teach me?" She asked slowly, waiting for my reaction. I only blinked down at her, slightly caught off guard. Someone actually wanted me to teach them something? Well, that was a surprise. Not that I'm doubting my own skills. I just never felt that I would fit as a teacher to anyone. I was all over the place, not to mention my slightly sadistic nature. Who in their right mind would trust me to teach children?

I certainly wouldn't.

But you know, it might be fun.

"Well, perhaps. Maybe you should talk to Kankuro about it first. He's still your Sensei," I advised, smiling. I doubted Kankuro would trust me with another of his students. Although I could understand his ire with me beating the living shit out of Hatsune. Putting Hideki to sleep was a totally different story, Kankuro was just overreacting.

Ukyo smiled brightly and I figured it was because I didn't flat out reject her. "Well, come on, I'll walk you out. It's time for my lunch break and I'm really craving some coffee," I stood up from my chair and quickly ushered her out. Hideki babbled animatedly the entire way out. He only stopped when we rounded the corner and came into the lobby of the Hospital. Why did he stop babbling like his older brother? Why, it was because my soon to be husband was standing at the front desk.

_Oh Christ. _

Ever since our little argument in the kitchen about the sleeping aide, I avoided Gaara. Not because my feelings were hurt or anything. God, no. According to Sasuke, I didn't even have any feelings. Which, in my opinion, was a total lie. I felt hungry all the time and you cannot tell me that's not a feeling. I feel that shit to my soul.

"Oh, it's Lord Kazekage..." Ukyo uttered quietly. I glanced at her and noticed a faint blush dusting her cheeks. Of course she had a thing for the redheaded fuck. I was starting to believe I was the only girl in Suna that didn't fall at his feet.

Anyway. I wasn't entirely sure why I insisted on avoiding Gaara. Maybe I just needed a break from all our bickering. Or maybe I needed a break from fantasizing about killing him, I'm not sure. I just knew I hadn't the energy to be around him.

Knowing I couldn't run the other way, I slowly approached him, leaving Hideki and Ukyo behind. At the front desk, Itsuki was making heart eyes at him that seemingly shattered when I popped into her line of vision. She forced a smile and motioned towards me, prompting Gaara to turn from her. "Gaara, is something wrong?" I asked slowly as I came to a stop in front of him. "You're not hurt, are you?" I feigned concern, eyes checking him over. He seemed perfectly fine and out of place. I noted a few other girls glancing at him, only to whisper and giggle to their friends.

Ew.

Gaara only shrugged before leaning down and kissing my cheek. It took everything in me not to kick him in the face. He was just acting for the public. "Have you taken your lunch break?" He asked calmly, seemingly ignoring all the commotion he was causing.

"No, I was on my way out for it."

The tall redhead nodded thoughtfully before taking my hand and leading me out. I only blinked stupidly at his back before glancing over my shoulder and hastily waving with my free hand to Hideki and Ukyo. They both smiled at me and waved back before they were out of sight.

He led me deep into the hustle and bustle of Suna, pinning me to his side. I said nothing, pursing my lips when we arrived at a little shop. He sat me down at a secluded table out front before going inside of the restaurant. Moments later he came back armed with a takeout bag. He set the bag down in front of me before sitting opposite of me. In his other hand he held two bottles. One was filled with water and the other looked like tea. I only quirked an eyebrow as he offered the bottle of tea with a gruff, _'it's good for you'._

I watched warily as he dug through the bag to reveal what I guessed to be his lunch. He didn't look at me, opting to eat. Finally on his third bite of food, his eyes flickered up to look at me. He lowered his chopsticks slowly and I noted the sand swirling up and nudging the takeout bag closer to me. Finally, he spoke up. "Eat, Xin."

Slowly, I reached forward to search through the bag. A white carton full of shrimp fried rice with extra shrimp. I glanced up at him, slightly disturbed but nodded my thanks. "How'd you know to get this?" I finally found my voice.

Gaara paused again to look at me. "You get it a lot," He stated simply before going back to eating. I frowned at him, completely and utterly confused. Not knowing what else to say, I slowly began to eat the shrimp fried rice with extra shrimp.

We were halfway through our lunch when I snapped. "Are you sure you're feeling alright? This is completely and utterly out of character. Why're you being so caring towards me, eh?" I began to ask, not really caring that I sounded ungrateful for his thoughtful effort.

He placed his water down on the table and studied my face for a long time. "What have you been doing during your lunch breaks?" Gaara asked calmly. I twisted my lips up at him because what? What did that have to do with anything?

"Don't distract me—"

"Have you been spending it with Jura?"

"_What? _What does that have to do with—"

"Where have you been, then?"

"Where have I been? What are you, my father—"

"No, I'm your fiancé."

"Stop cutting me off."

I felt like punching him in his mouth. Who the fuck did he think he was, questioning me like this? And what does any of this have to do with Jura? Who the hell cared if I ate lunch with Jura or not? Why the fuck did we always end up butting heads and going back and forth like this?

"You haven't come to the office for lunch in awhile."

I only huffed. "Is Temari behind this? If it's really that big of a deal, I'll come by for lunch—"

"Temari has nothing to do with any of this."

Once again, it was quiet between the two of us. Dragging me down to this shop to have lunch with him was done out of his own will? That was suspicious. I thought he couldn't stand me, liked me or trusted me. If this was the case, what was the point?

"We've been bickering a lot—I was tired of it. I didn't know it'd be a problem," I shrugged one of my shoulders. "Don't tell me you actually missed having lunch with me," I leered at him, crossing my arms across my chest. "How adorable."

Gaara didn't say anything.

"Oh my God, you did miss me."

I had a shit eating grin across my face while Gaara glared hatefully at me. "Don't flatter yourself," He snapped with an extra bite to his tone. I only continued to grin and leaned towards the table to settle my folded arms on it.

"Really? You really didn't miss me?" I continued to leer at him, causing his irritation to grow. "Oh come on, it's not like we have to have lunch. None of your villagers know I come have lunch with you. You missed me, just admit it."

"You're a nuisance."

I could only laugh before picking my chopsticks back up, opting to leave him alone. We ate in peace for twenty minutes before he spoke up. "What was your team like before they died?" Gaara asked. I paused and glanced up at him. I knew someone would eventually ask about them.

I poked around at my food with a soft frown. "They were good people. My Sensei was a little violent, she had a short temper. Used to beat the crap out of me, Lena was her name. She looked really feminine but was actually evil as shit," I started picking through memories that had been locked away for two years. "My teammates were the polar opposites of one another. Haruka was a total diva, so fuckin' annoying. We always argued about everything. And then there was Seiko, she was like the peacemaker. She was a kind girl, I didn't think either of them was meant to be kunoichi."

"How did they die?"

My lips tightened and I shook my head. "Complications from our mission," I said shortly. "It's not something I enjoy talking about," I tried to hint that their deaths were none of his business. I think he might have gotten the hint because he nodded slowly. Wanting to change the subject, I smiled. "You know, Ukyo asked me to teach her medical ninjutsu," I suddenly said. Gaara snorted into his water, a disturbed look on his face. "Oi, what's with that? You don't think I can teach her?"

"Ah, how did you describe your former Sensei? Violent, short temper and abusive? Looks feminine but is actually evil? That doesn't sound...familiar?"

"I do not take after that witch."

"You shouldn't speak so ill of the dead."

"Oh, shut the hell up."

* * *

"Absolutely not."

"Kankuro..."

"No, no. Hell no. You want me to trust that woman with Ukyo?"

"It's not like I'm going to eat her."

"We don't know that."

"Are you serious right now?"

Five minutes...just five minutes. That's all she asked for. Just five minutes of peaceful serenity. Temari let out a long sigh as something in the living room fumbled. Why was it that Kankuro and Xin bickered relentlessly? And why did it always end with a piece of their furniture being ruined? Didn't they understand how expensive furniture was to replace? What, did they think a new couch would just fall out of the sky?

"Why the hell are you so mad at me? Ukyo is the one who had this bright idea! I didn't even accept it, so what's the problem?" Xin demanded shrilly. Temari could just feel the migraine pressing against the side of her head.

Or maybe it was a tumor...

"Didn't accept it? So you rejected Ukyo? Why the hell would you do that? What's wrong with Ukyo? What, she's not as reckless as you and the rest of the shinobi of Konoha?"

"Hey! Don't you fuckin' talk about my village like that, you psycho! Either you want me to teach her or you don't! You're as bad as a woman!"

"Did you really just call me a psycho?"

"I sure as hell did! Want me to call you that again? Not so nice, eh?"

Temari let out a long sigh, trying to ignore the violent argument happening right down the hall. Kankuro and Xin were more like bickering siblings with each passing day. They were always doing something or saying something to purposely annoy one another. "Shut up, you guys," She growled at them a she entered the living room. Luckily, both of them were still sitting down, which was a good sign. There was nothing broken and no weapons imbedded in the walls. All good signs.

Kankuro turned to his older sister, frowning. "If you had a young student, would you trust Xin to teach them? After putting one of your other students in the hospital and poisoning another student?"

He had a good point.

Before she could answer, Xin quickly jumped in to defend herself. "First of all, your student tried to kill me when it was supposed to be a friendly spar. And second of all, I didn't poison anyone, it was a sleeping agent and Jura was the one who volunteered his brother, not me!"

Ah, also good points.

They didn't wait for her to put her two cents in, opting to fly back into insulting each other. Kankuro accused Xin of being a psychotic gnome while Xin mercilessly accused him of being an uneducated brute.

"It's not my fault your student knows you're useless when it comes to medical ninjutsu, you idiot!"

"It'll be my fault if I leave you unsupervised with her and she ends up with a kunai in her eye!"

"Someone stab me in the eye with a kunai," Temari grumbled before sinking into the couch. They continued until she finally lost her cool. "Would you two shut the hell up!?" She snapped over their voices. They both seemed to freeze under her wrath. "I am so sick of this arguing! Why can't we just come home and ask how our days went, hm? Why do I have to come home to this? Don't you realize how inconsiderate you two are being?" the blonde's usually calm eyes light up in a fearsome rage.

She turned on Xin, focusing her rage on the smaller woman. "Xin, maybe, just maybe, if a threat didn't come out of your mouth every time you bothered to open it, we would have more trust in you! I get that you're still not happy about this whole marriage nonsense but you don't have to make things more miserable!"

Xin was clearly appalled, mouth hanging open and eyebrows knitting together as she let out a surprised and offended scoff. She pressed her hand to her chest and cocked her head in offense, as if she didn't deserve that tongue-lashing. But Temari was already moving on to her brother.

"And you aren't making anything easy, Kankuro. You're someone's Sensei but all you do is whine about your students being hurt or their weapons being damaged in a fight! Here's an idea, stop treating them like they're inadequate children and start treating them like they're ninja so you wouldn't have to worry about any of this!"

The living room was silent as the two regarded the older blonde. She was hunched over now, breathing heavily and staring them down, daring them to deny any of her words. Xin_ (who at some point stood up)_ cautiously backed away, knowing full well that females could be rather violent when they wanted to be. Kankuro, knowing how violent his sister could be, gave her enough space.

Xin glanced at the older male, slightly pouting. Although she hated to admit it, Temari was right. More than likely, every time she did bother to open her mouth, an insult was flying out. Before moving to Suna, she tended to dryly threaten her friends but once she arrived in Suna, it seemed like all that ever came out of her mouth was a threat.

In Konoha, she had her sadistic streak but she had been a goofball and although she was a little more somber after the deaths of her team, she was still fun to be around when she wasn't smelling like stale blood and sorrow. But once she got to Suna, the little bit of goodness she had in her seemed to just melt away. It allowed her more evil ans sadistic side to shine through. The Sand Siblings annoyed the fuck out of her but they were just as unhappy as she was with the circumstances.

It wouldn't kill her to tone down the threats. They weren't special though, she'll still threaten them.

Just...not as often.

Kankuro let out a long sigh of defeat, glancing in between the two women. Perhaps he had been a little...overprotective of his students. And maybe he had been coddling them recently, with good reason, in his opinion. But...if Ukyo wanted to train under Xin...

"Promise you won't murder Ukyo."

"Well, I like her, so I'll try my best."

"Xin..."

"No, I'm serious," She huffed, hands on her hips. Temari eyed them warily, hoping they wouldn't jump right back into senseless bickering. "Why does everyone think learning medical ninjutsu is a walk in the park? That shit is hard. There will be blood, sweat and tears."

"You're dramatic."

"Well, I'm a girl."

They were both crazy, Temari decided.

* * *

"Oi, Xin?"

"Ahh?"

Jura leaned closer to her, eyes trained on her on her bicep. She didn't bother to stop whatever she was doing, writing notes, he figured. Every time he came barging into her office, she was either in the middle of healing someone or writing something down. Medics were impossibly busy. "What does this symbol mean?" He asked, reaching forward to boldly poke at the spiral tattoo. Xin paused and blinked before looking down with raised eyebrows. It's almost like she forgot she even had the tattoo in the first place.

"Oh, well," She paused, twisting her lips up. "I was an ANBU member in Konoha. It was just something the uniform required. I never really understood it," She began to say, tapping her pen against her lips. "I probably should cover it up but I figured this meant nothing in Suna."

Jura sat back, frowning in thought. His oldest sibling, Kyohei, was also a dedicated ANBU member of Suna. Although in the rare moments that he saw Kyohei, he didn't recall any tattoos to symbolize his loyalty to Suna. Xin suddenly leaned back in her chair, arm raised so she could stare at the tattoo. He figured Xin was just a Jōnin with a weird tattoo on her arm. "Is there anything you can't do?" He deadpanned. ANBU members were highly respected ninjas. Medical ninjas were highly respected ninjas. Clan members were highly respected ninjas.

She shrugged blandly. "I can't control my short temper, cooking is the only type of housework I can do, I suck at genjutsu, my penmanship is horrible, I lose things easily, I'm not handy at all so if something breaks, we're fucked."

Jura only stared at her, causing her to frown. "Oh, that was a rhetorical question, wasn't it?" She quipped with a good humored grin. He actually laughed at that with a thought of _'what a strange woman my Kazekage is marrying.' _

Xin curled a strand of her hair around her finger. "Perhaps I'll work closely with your brother in the future, eh?" She hummed thoughtfully. This caused Jura to frown and shake his head.

"Doubt it, he's rarely ever around. I'd be surprised if you ever met him. Anyway, forget about Kyohei, he's like a phantom," He stated with a bitter edge to his tone. Xin only glanced at him, eyebrow quirked.

"You don't have a brother complex, do you?"

Jura only glared in annoyance at her. Her grin turned sheepish and she hunched into herself. "It's because he's not around a lot, right? Always out on missions, coming home here and there only to get right back out there? You're never really sure if he'll come back by himself or in a casket."

The brunet eyed her uneasily. She wasn't looking at him, opting to stare wistfully out the window. She didn't seem sad despite her words, only wistful. It was odd but he felt like she missed _something _over missing _someone._

"You had someone like my older brother back in Konoha?"

"I _was_ your older brother in Konoha."

Jura allowed the confusion to cross his face and waited for her to explain. Her lips twisted up and she leaned her cheek against her fist, eyes closed. "I have two sisters. One is my older twin and the other is my younger sister. They're both Chūnin, well, I think they still are. They might have been promoted since I've been gone," She began to explain, tapping her pen against her lips.

"Anyway, they're Chūnin and I was an ANBU member, our missions were vastly different, obviously. I was gone a lot, on dangerous missions. I loved it but they didn't. I never really understood why but they always worried. Always stayed up late on the nights I was supposed to come back. I'd find them waiting out on the veranda too many times. Sometimes I'd be too tired to wake them or help them back so we'd just sleep outside. My parents threw a hissy fit every time," She laughed softly at that.

A long sigh escaped her lips after that laugh. "I missed a lot of things. Important things every kunoichi experiences and important things every girl experiences. I didn't really care or understand just how awful of a sister I was being to them. I'm still an awful sister."

Her eyelids flickered open and she trained her gaze on him. "He probably doesn't realize how you and your younger siblings feel but he will, soon. Or maybe he has, I dunno. He will come around eventually and will try to make things up to you. Don't turn him away when that time comes, yeah?"

"...Yeah..."

* * *

"So, what's the point of me being here?"

Gaara's face twitched as I leaned into him, poking and prodding him for an answer. The redhead did his best to ignore my annoying behavior but I saw the twitches and couldn't help the coy grin crossing my face. I tugged at his fingers. "Don't ignore me."

"Hyuga-San, it would do you well to pay attention," one of the Sand councilmen suddenly interrupted all of my annoying prodding. I paused, glancing up at the older man. I never bothered to learn any of their names—besides Baki's name, but this councilmen had the most wrinkles.

"It would do you well to refer to me as 'my Lady' and to explain what's the point of either of us being here if we don't have a say," I sung out in a sing-song voice.

"Oh, God," Gaara mumbled into his palm.

The wrinkled councilmen, I'm going to call him Bando, frowned at me. He glanced around at the other members, who were also frowning at me. Ha, bet they regretted the hell out of picking me to marry their Kazekage. Just goes to show you, looks and talents aren't everything. "Well, my Lady," Bando spat the title out like it was poisoned. "Do you have any suggestions?"

"Well, I thought you'd never ask!" I squealed out shrilly before diving halfway across the large circular table to grab at the wedding binder. This whole impromptu meeting at ten o'clock at night was for the sake of wedding planning.

No, I shit you not.

I almost threw a damn hissy fit when I realized this meeting was about the wedding and not something important. It took the efforts of both Gaara and Baki to calm my anger down or else I would have committed mass murder.

I flipped through the binder, frowning. "Okay, well first of all, I said I wanted the date to be June thirteenth, not the twentieth," I held my hand up to Gaara, flexing it in a 'gimme gimme' motion. He silently placed a pen in my hand. I scribbled the twentieth out in favor for the thirteenth. "We will not be having the wedding outside, have you lost your minds? We're in the middle of a desert, for God sakes! No, no, we're having it at that nice dining hall, um, do you know what I'm talking about, honey? It's like a road or two over from the tower? The Desert Hall? That's what it's called? How original...well, there, we'll have it there."

I flipped through more pages only to come through a screeching halt. "Oh no you didn't," I scowled at the pictures. I slammed the binder down, causing the members who were closest to us jump and lean away nervously.

Gaara leaned in, eyes scanning the pages. "Here we go," He muttered after taking one sweep across the page. He leaned back in his chair and scooted to the side, just in case.

"Who in the blue Hell picked these colors?! Tan? Beige? Sandy Brown!?" I screeched out as if they insulted my great ancestors or something. "Have you completely lost your shit? What kind of bullshit is that? Who authorized this?! Baki, is it possible to, like, fire council-members? Do I have that power because I'm about to abuse the shit out of it!"

"My lady, please calm down," Baki was trying to remain calm. Gaara didn't bother doing anything, only mumbling that I hated those colors with a passion. They should know this by now, I've been here for four or five months. Or maybe it was six months, already, I wasn't sure. "You cannot have someone fired because of a color they picked," Baki soothingly told me.

"Can I kill him then?"

**"No." **

I scowled angrily and looked back towards the colors. Tan, Beige, Sandy brown and some other ungodly colors that I couldn't identify stared back at me. Armed with my pen, I scribbled over the colors. I glanced up at the council, hard scowl still in place.

I took a deep breath and suddenly a smile broke out across my lips. "Okay, these are the colors I want you to look into. Grape, Pale Lilac, Navy and Rose-Gold. They're very pretty colors and they look fabulous when they're put together, you know? I also want you to hire an actual wedding-planner. I don't care how much it'll cost. Weddings are expensive, yeah? And I figure I deserve the big wedding my parents were supposed to give me. Gaara does too. Fake or not."

The older members were looking at Gaara and Baki for guidance. Gaara only shrugged with little to no interest and Baki only nodded, lest he wanted me to inflict my strange womanly wrath on him. "Meeting adjourned."

* * *

"They're just colors."

I sighed dramatically on our way home. "No, they're not just colors, Gaara," I told him with an eye roll. "As a woman, a wedding is very important and I'll be damned if I look back on my wedding when I'm senile and regret anything. If we're doing this, we're doing it right."

"If they didn't think you were out of your mind before, they definitely think you are now," Gaara stated simply, ignoring my statement. I only frowned in confusion. "You went from having a hissy fit to smiling and being polite in the span of fifteen minutes, Xin. That's not...normal..."

"In a world full of ninjas and Jinchūriki, who wants to be normal?"

Gaara let out a dry, throaty laugh and if we didn't hate one another, I think it would have been my favorite sound. Before my mind could wander off into uncharted territory, I thought of other things. Like whether or not Kankuro would allow me to train Ukyo. He'd been thinking about it ever since Temari ripped into us the other days.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when Gaara jerked me to a stop. "Ah?" I yipped out, nearly stumbling over my feet. He said nothing, eyes flickering to the rooftops above us. I followed the motion, laying my eyes on two figures shrouded in black. They were stock still and staring directly at us. "Oh come on..."

The two jumped down, landing silently. It wasn't that I was intimidated by the two rogue figures, I was just tired. I didn't feel like dealing with wannabe assassins with poor and not to mention, stereotypical fashion choices. However, before I could point out that some people had lives and jobs and were actually tired, the bigger of the two came rushing forward. I couldn't even think to dodge out of the way when Gaara roughly shoved me out of the way.

I hit the wall of the building and barely got myself together before I had to scramble out of the way on the oncoming attack from the other rogue. He was more slim compared to his bulky companion and armed with a katana that gleamed in the moonlight. I eyed the blade warily, remembering all the times I'd been run through with a katana by Sasuke or Itachi. I wasn't particularly fond of the weapon and remained wary of it. Somewhere off to the side, I could hear the sound of Gaara's sand attacking the bulkier rogue.

Deciding that ending this quickly would be the best route, I activated my Byakugan. The rogue's body light up with his chakra system. He must of noted the change in my eyes because he rushed forward before I could think of a quick plan. He swung the katana, intending to behead me. I ducked into a crouch and swung my leg out to knock him off his feet, only to have him jump to avoid the attack. He landed back on his feet just as my leg swung backwards to knock into his legs. He stumbled backwards but I shot up, slamming my open palm into his throat.

My would be assassin fumbled away with a gag but I followed after him, slamming my palm into his chest this time. A burst of my chakra erupted from my palm and I felt his chakra locking down. I spun around my bent my knees, delivering a sharp elbow to his ribs. I felt more of his chakra shut down along with a rib or two breaking.

He surprised me when he summoned enough of his strength to plunge that damn katana into my side. I let out a shriek of surprise and in my panicked state, punched him squarely in the face, causing the katana to violently tear of my side. He fell to the ground in an instant and I followed up by kicking him much like I would kick a kickball.

I clamped my hand to my side and slowly approached his prone body. I figured with a punch and a kick like that, his nose was broken along with more of his ribs. Blood gushed past my hand but I didn't bother with it. I wanted to see this fucker's face.

I was standing over him now. He wasn't unconscious but he was probably hurt, judging by how tightly his eyes were shut. I knelt down, ignoring the stabbing pain and reached for his mask. However, his eyes opened and I stopped short. The rogue stared up at me, probably scowling harshly. I heard a shout from his partner before something came to a rolling stop at my feet. "Wha–" I was cut off when a smoke bomb went off in my face. My hands instantly came up to shield my mouth and my nose and I quickly shut my eyes.

The smell of my own blood filling my nostrils made my head spin and I almost dropped to my ass. This would have been the perfect opportunity for the rogue to take another stab at me. But seeing as how he probably couldn't breath through the broken cartilage that was his nose, I figured I was off the hook.

Gaara shouted my name and I suddenly felt sand coiling around my middle. I screamed bloody murder when the sand shifted into my open wound and struggled to get out of the hold. Instead, the sand pulled me away and into the arms of the redheaded idiot who was unaware of his damn sand infecting my gushing wound. I think he meant to ask me if I was injured but I yanked myself out of his arms. I glanced down at the wound and almost groaned when I saw particles of sand glued to the gaping hole with my blood. How was I supposed to heal it now that I needed to clean it? My medic's pouch was back home.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

"Take me to the hospital," I demanded shrilly. He opened his mouth, probably to ask why I couldn't heal the wound myself. "Now!" I growled at him. Gaara glared at me for my tone of voice but effortlessly lifted me. I glanced over his shoulder, looking for the two in black only to see that they were long gone.

An uneasy feeling settled over my as I recalled the eyes of my wannabe assassin.

Murky-blue eyes.

* * *

emilyamazing: Well, that's the fun part my dear, we have no idea whose developing feelings for her!

Akari: lol, I don't think Xin would try to slap the Shukaku out the window. That's just suicidal. She'd probably just hiss and spit at him while keeping her distance. But yeah, I totally loved the 'slapping out the window' parts lol. So I read Fairy Tales Grimm and holy shitballs, like why. It's so good, I can't even. The feels, Akari, the feeeeels. Why would you do this to meeeeeeee.

The Kazekage of Suna: Okay, first of all, I knew I recgnozed your username but for the life of me I couldn't figure it out until I grew some sense and clicked your profile. Do you know who you are?! I fuckin' love you and your stories, you wonderful person. okay, fangirl moment over. Anyway, I'm glad you did love it and God no, no demons for Xin. And for your first review, I humbly accept the critiques. While Xin threatens Gaara a lot, she will not go through with them. She's full of it, basically. It's how she expresses her anger, no she probably can't beat up Kankuro, but that doesn't mean she can't give him a run for his money. She is a close-ranged fighter while he's long-distance so while she probably can't beat him, she can put up a good fight. And as for why Xin, well, why not? I've read arranged marriages between Gaara and Hinata and I suppose that's all the reasoning I had, as lame as that sounds. But thank you so much for your review!

Afaaf: I hope you haven't had any horrible weeks since I updated! I know, I know, I was debating a lot on whether Itachi was alive in this story but I thought what the hell, it's my story. He's alive lol. Plus, I cried my eyes out when he died so, yeah. Hope you liked the update.

Sweetsmilez: I'm glad you like it and I hope this update excited you as well!

Lillian: Lol, you're not the only one who forgot this was AU. Glad you like it and I hope you like this chapter as well!

When I first started this story, I only had a small idea of where I wanted to go with it. But as it's coming along, I'm figuring out exactly what I want to do with it and why there's certain characters and who plays what role. It's not just your run of the mill arranged marriage story and I'm really loving it. I hope you guys love it too. Reviews? Reviews for all, yes! See you next time!


	10. Chased me and he wouldn't stop

"My Lady?"

"Mm?"

"May I ask a question?"

"That is a question."

Ukyo huffed quietly one dry afternoon. I only glanced at her before going back to my charts. "I can still feel your chakra wavering, Ukyo. If you want to be a medic, you need better control of your chakra," I scolded her without looking up this time.

The little brunette only whined quietly. "I know, my Lady. I understand that but I just have this one question.."

"You said that when you asked your fifteenth question an hour ago."

Again, she whined childishly. Well, if anyone ever asked why hadn't I taken on students long ago, the childish factor would be a top reason. Were all twelve-year old kids this whiny? Or was she thirteen? My lips thinned out in thought. Oh, wait. She's supposed to be asking something. "One more question and then you focus."

Ukyo was at my desk in seconds, smiling anxiously. I only quirked a dark brow at her. Sometimes Ukyo really reminded me of my sister or even Seiko. Kind, shy and a little nervous. But other times she could be sassy like Haruka. I hated her for it. Ukyo twisted her fingers into her shirt and smiled nervously. The smile I gave her back was done out of amusement and I patiently waited for her to work her courage up to ask whatever was bugging her. The girl only shifted nervously before finally opening her mouth. "What's it like to be in love?"

"Iunno," I shrugged, pressing my cheek into my palm before realizing my mistake. "Well, not that I don't know. It's just...hard to describe love," I said slowly. Yeah, okay, that sounded good. Her blue eyes were shining in curiosity and I almost felt bad for the massive lie I was about to feed her.

Almost.

I twisted my chair around to face her and slid my sandals off so that I could fold my legs underneath me. It was a horrible habit, taking my sandals off at the office. Sometimes I forgot they were off and would just get up and wander around the hospital barefoot. It was...normal in Konoha, no one really questioned it. Well, the first time they found me wandering around the Hospital without any sandals on, they questioned it. But after that, after they kept finding me barefoot, no one even commented on it. Except when they'd tell me my nail polish was pretty.

Now, here, in Suna? Completely different. The medics freaked the hell out after I came around the corner barefoot. Scared the living shit out of me, I dropped my cup of coffee and everything. They didn't even give me a chance to mourn over my coffee before they were up in my face shrilly asking what happened to my sandals. I didn't see the big deal but now I tried to remember to slip them back on if I had to leave the safety of my office. Especially if I was carrying a cup of coffee.

"We live in a world where love is...is not as important as it could be. Emotions causes shinobi to be weak. Love is a weakness that can be exploited but we allow it sometimes," I paused, trying to weave this lie together. "It's both wonderful and horrible."

Ukyo blinked her dark eyes at me in confusion and fascination. "It's wonderful because you have a person who loves you for you. Not the person you're_ supposed_ to be or the person everyone _expects_ you to be. Just you. They love you for the little weirdo that you are," I shifted my head so I was leaning my cheek against my palm for the second time.

"And it's nice. It's really nice to be wanted by someone else. But you know, it can also be horrible. Sometimes you can't be with the person you love or sometimes the person you love does something to hurt you. But you know, that's just apart of growing up. The relationship will not always be sunshine and rainbows."

It's a good thing I'm a kunoichi cuz' if I wasn't already going to Hell for murdering people, I was certainly going to Hell for lying to this innocent child about love.

Ukyo's eyes fluttered and I could just see the utter fascination and hope she had for love. I only shook my head. "You have more important things to think about, Ukyo. Love can wait, yes?" I shooed her back to her corner and turned back around to finish my notes.

* * *

"Do you ever feel guilty about all the lies?"

Pretty blue eyes glanced at me for a quick second before focusing back on the task of watering the large cacti plants. I only rolled my eyes and plopped down dramatically on the couch knowing I wouldn't get an answer until the plants were taken care of. The only other person I've ever seen this obsessive over plant cultivating was Naruto. Ah...maybe it was a Jinchūriki thing.

"Don't tell me you're actually growing a conscious," Gaara suddenly spoke up, surprising me. He still had four more plants to water. Well, that was weird. He usually straight ignored me like I was some stepchild whenever he was caring for his little babies.

Realizing the question and sensing the teasing undertone, I snorted boyishly. "Of course not. Kind of too late to grow a conscious now," I laughed and pulled at my ponytail. "I just figured you might be feeling guilty about lying to your villagers like this, they're important to you, yeah?"

Gaara didn't answer at first, opting to carefully water the potted plant by the door. "Of course they're important to me," He finally said after a long pause. "But how they see me is also very important and if having a wife is something that will cause them to trust in me more, then I will get married," Gaara stated firmly. I only pursed my lips and chose not to comment on his warped mentality. "How is your side?"

My side? Oh, he meant the gaping wound I sustained by that bastard in black. The wound had been healed but it left behind an ugly but small scar. I didn't really mind it, I had a dozen scars, but I noticed Gaara would sometimes stare at my side. "It's fine, doesn't even hurt. Thrifty new scar though," I reached for the side of my shirt and tugged it up, revealing the new scar. I poked at it, feeling the ruined skin with a hum. "It's actually not as bad as I thought it was going to be and...are you okay?" I noticed a strange look overtake his face while I prodded at the scar.

Gaara carefully placed the watering can down in the middle of watering his plant and approached me with a wary expression. I only stared at him with pursed lips as he came within reach of me. He glanced at me for a quick second before reaching forward to brush his fingers against the scar. My hands twitched but I didn't do anything. His hand suddenly gripped my hip and he dropped into a crouch, eyeing the scar like it was something that fell out of the sky. I let out a muffled yelp when his fingers dug rather roughly into my hip.

"Uh..." I fumbled for something to say. Out of all the interactions and physical encounters we've had, this had to be the weirdest. If anyone were to come in at this very moment, I'd have no idea how to explain what the hell was happening. If Gaara sensed how uncomfortable I was with him caressing my scar, he did a damn good job ignoring it. His eyes suddenly flickered up at me and I smiled nervously. "You act like you've never had a scar before," I laughed in an attempt to make light of the tense atmosphere.

He was suddenly back at his full height, towering over me and trapping me between the desk and his body. I took a careful step back, only to bump into his desk. Sometimes, with his calm personality, I forgot just how intimidating he could actually be. The redhead reached slowly for my face, fingertip running across the scar at the corner of my lips. "I've never had a scar before," He broke the silence. "Absolute shield, remember?" I could just hear the smirk in his tone and what's worse, I actually felt myself blushing.

Maybe it just had something to do with our body heat.

Not because I was nervous.

Yeeeah.

My eyes roved over him, noting that his skin was actually the picture of perfection. Me, on the other hand, I was just riddled with scars. I never thought poorly of my scars, I liked them. They told many different stories and they set me aside from my family. I loved my little scars. But now...I suddenly felt very ugly.

Reaching up, I pushed his hand away while finding the floor very interesting. "Ah, come on, you don't have to poke and prod at my scars like that, I know they're ugly," I whined and tried to put some space in between us.

Gaara actually swatted my hand away like I was some four year old child and not his eighteen year old wife to be. Eh, that still sounded weird. He continued his strange obsession with the scar at my lips. "Do you have more scars?"

"Hm? Well, yeah. I'm kind of covered in them, actually. Well, ah, none of them are really that big. Except the one on my back but you've seen that, remember? The explosive tag?"

Oh my God, was I rambling?

"But you know, my clothes covers them so I don't have to worry about anyone staring at them..."

Oh my God, how do I stop myself?

My cheeks were burning and I suddenly felt like Sakura or Hinata trying to talk to Sasuke or Naruto. Ah, now I kind of felt guilty for constantly teasing the two of them. However, they actually were in love with those two knuckleheads. I, on the other hand, barely even liked Gaara, let alone loved him.

So why was I rambling and blushing?

The prodding at my lips suddenly stopped and for a minute, I thought he'd go back to watering his plants. Gaara decided to throw a damn curve-ball today because my shirt was suddenly up to my neck. A strangled wheeze came from me as Gaara busied himself with searching my torso for more scars.

My face was probably the same shade of a tomato while he thoughtlessly ran his hands over my various scars. "A-Ah..." I fumbled to say something. This was completely and utterly inappropriate and if anyone walked in right now, I would literally be at a loss for words. Honestly, how would I explain that this was not a result of a passionate romp without them giving me the 'really, bitch?' look.

His hands ghosted dangerously close to my breasts and I suddenly found my sense. "Wait a damn minute!" I exclaimed while palming his chest, putting some much needed distance between the two of us. "Gaara, you can't just feel someone up like this."

He had the gall to ask me, "Why?"

And he honestly looked confused! His lips pursed in question as his eyes wandered across my scar-covered stomach. "I was only touching your scars, I wasn't feeling anything up."

"I get that and everything but it was making me just a bit uncomfortable," I grumbled with that blush still in place. I wrestled my shirt from him hand and rolled it back down, successfully hiding my scar-riddled body. "You know, there's such thing called personal space..."

He didn't bother replying to my statement, finding the scar at my lips once more. "How did you get this one?" Gaara asked, thumbnail scrapping against the scar. Sometimes I forgot about that scar, it was so tiny and you'd have to be up in my face to even notice it. Like how Gaara was currently up in my face.

"I was on a mission once and they got lucky."

That's all I had to say because Gaara simply nodded. "They're not ugly," He suddenly said, startling me. I only blinked at him. "They suit you," Gaara's voice dropped to a low hum and I leaned in just to hear him.

A nervous laugh broke from my lips and I quickly shouldered my way out of his trap. "That's good to know," I crossed the room to stand by the doors, ready to escape if the situation got even more weird. "Oh, look at that...time for me to get back to the hospital! See you for dinner, yeah?" I hurried out, eager to get away from the strange Kazekage. I nearly ran into Matsuri in my haste to get away from him. I'm sure she asked me if I was alright but I simply waved her off and continued to hurry away.

What a weirdo.

* * *

Jura came barging into my office, only to freeze with wide eyes. I glanced up with a quirked eyebrow and Ukyo jumped, dropping the medical scroll. Jura looked around widely, making sure that he hadn't barged in on something he didn't want to see. "Good afternoon," I hummed casually. "Is there something you need?"

Realizing that it was safe, Jura smiled widely. "My sister came to visit," He said with bright eyes. "And...my brother. He came home from a mission today, he's resting at home. I was wondering if you'd like to come and meet them. You can come too, Ukyo, Hideki probably wants to see how you're doing with your medical training."

I puckered my lips and then fixed my face. "Suuuure," I laughed but it sounded awkward and forced. Jura took notice of the pathetic laugh because he frowned and titled his head to the side. His shoulders sagged just a bit and even Ukyo blinked at me.

"Is something troubling you, my Lady? You don't sound excited."

Oh, for fuck sake's, shut up Ukyo.

"No, no. Nothing is troubling me, it's just so sudden," I smiled tightly. "But sure, I'll come over to meet them."

"Good because I need you to come over now."

"Wait, what?"

Jura grinned sheepishly. "Well, he's kind of injured and I was thinking if anyone could heal him, it's you!" He exclaimed. I only stared at him with blank eyes and a frown. "Okay, okay, it's more so because you're my friend and I knew it would be easier to tell you to come heal him versus asking any of these other medics..."

Of course.

Jura lived in a rather big house, much to my surprise. I mean, it's not like I thought he was poor or anything. I just...never bothered to find out more about him. I knew he had four other siblings and his rank and...his last name. Christ, I'm a horrible friend.

How old is Jura?

Oh my God, I really am a horrible friend.

"Oi! I'm back!" Jura announced as we stepped into the house. There was a collection of noises that ceased as soon as Jura was finished shouting. "I brought our guests too!"

Hideki was the first one to stomp his way into the foyer of the house. "Ukyo!" He grinned widely and suddenly paused as realization swamped his features. "Uh, I mean..." He fumbled over his words, trying to regain his composure. "I mean, what's up, Ukyo?"

Oh, okay, he was crushing on the little brunette. How cute.

Ukyo smiled in greeting with a slight blush dusting across her cheeks. Well, the feelings were mutual. I openly stared at them, wondering how long it would take them to realize the mutual attraction. I also wondered how Usui would react to his teammate crushing on his sister. "Good afternoon, my Lady!" Hideki grinned at me, trying to play it all off. I only smiled, leaning down to ruffle his messy hair. The Chūnin whined and tried in vain to push my offending hand away. My smile grew in amusement as I sifted my fingers through his hair.

"You need a haircut, kid," I stated simply and finally backed off. "It's good to see you, Hideki," I stated kindly and gave him one final pat on the head. Hideki only huffed, glanced at Ukyo, and severally blushed when he noticed that she was giggling at the spectacle of us.

"Hideki, take Ukyo and introduce her to Asuna, yeah? Xin and I will check on Kyohei," Jura stated before pulling me up to the second floor of the house. I could hear Hideki talking animatedly to Ukyo, who I could only hear giggling. Those two had it bad for each other. I hope it didn't end with heartbreak.

Jura led me to the door at the end of the hallway and knocked on it once before swinging the door open. I dully noted that he and Hatsune really needed to learn how to properly knock before just entering. And so did Matsuri. Actually, most of the young Suna shinobi should learn how to knock properly. What the hell was wrong with all of them? It really wasn't that hard to knock before entering.

Mikawa Kyohei was propped up in his bed with bandages slapped hastily over his nose. Thanks to the low tank top he was wearing, I could make out a large bruise that bloomed over his chest along with another bruise on his throat. His arm was also bruised but the blotchy bruise was smaller.

My blood ran cold at the sight of the injuries but I didn't let it show. Instead, I smile kindly and stepped into the room. The oldest Mikawa sibling looked up and offered a very calm smile. "You must be the Kazekage's fiancée I've heard so much about."

Oh, I bet you have heard a lot about me.

"That would be me," I said instead as I neared him. "Rough mission I see," I hummed casually. "Have you reported to Gaara?" I continued casually as I approached the side of his bed. Without asking for permission, I settled down on the edge of the bed.

"Nothing I couldn't handle," Kyohei stated simply. I only glanced at him but said nothing. "I've gone to the Kazekage already. My teammate should be finishing up our mission report to turn in before our next mission."

I simply nodded and reached for the bandages slapped over his nose. I felt around the bridge of his nose, pressing a little too hard on the broken cartilage. He flinched away from my fingers but I ignored it and began examining his bruises. "Any other injuries I should know about?" I asked calmly. Kyohei was giving me a strange look but slowly pulled the side of his shirt up with just one hand. I leaned in to examine the large bruise around his rib area and began pressing. "Two broken ribs," I hummed calmly. "Was your mission a success?"

"It was."

Yeah, he successfully got his ass handed to him.

"I see, well, nothing to it but to do it, yes?" I smiled brightly at him before I started the process of healing him. Jura yammered away ignorantly, not fully aware of what his good friend and brother were feeling towards one another. Like I told Gaara before, I was a lot of things. And when I say a lot, I really meant it. But I was not stupid or oblivious. I recognized those murky blue eyes that resembled Hatsune's eyes. I knew them two days ago when they were staring at me through a haze of pain while they struggled to breath through a broken nose.

Kyohei was one of those crazy ninjas running around, trying to put an end to Gaara. And to some extent, me. Kyohei was not to be trusted. He was the enemy and if he attacked once more, I was going to make sure I killed him this time.

_'He's Jura's brother.' _

Well, shit. There's that. I had honestly forgotten that this traitor was related to my unofficial best friend. I wonder how Kyohei felt knowing his younger brother was friends with the women he was trying to murder. And then there's Hideki as well. Wow, what a dilemma. And more importantly, when did I get morals and how do I get rid of them?

"All better!" I stated cheerily after setting his ribs back into place so I could mend them together. "Do you feel better, Mikawa-San?" I asked politely while standing up. Kyohei didn't answer at first, opting to slowly climb out of bed.

"Much better, Hyuga-San."

I only looked at him, frowning. "I don't remember telling you her last name, bro," Jura laughed, not really realizing Kyohei's mistake. I only continued to stare at him with that same frown, waiting for his cover up story.

"Hatsune told me about her the minute you left to get her," Kyohei stated after a long pause. Ah, good one. It was plausible and Hatsune most likely said some things about me to her two older siblings. Score one for you, Kyohei.

"Sounds like Hatsune," Jura rubbed the back of his neck and grinned sheepishly. "They get along much better now, the best of friends," his grin was accompanied by my own snort of amusement. I playfully elbowed his side as he led us out of the bedroom. Kyohei watched our playful banter with a soft frown, eyes showing something much sinister that I only seemed to notice. However, I ignored it.

"You're really pushing it, Jura."

"Yeah, maybe you're right."

The trek downstairs was filled by Jura yammering away. He had yet to notice the tense atmosphere between Kyohei and I. I could just feel Kyohei staring at the top of my head, probably wishing it would burst into fire. I played it off, remaining oblivious of his staring.

Stepping into the kitchen, I almost stumbled over my feet at the sight of the oldest Mikawa daughter. She was almost the spitting image of Haruka before she died. Unlike the rest of her siblings who either had dark brown hair or light brown, almost blonde hair, Asuna's hair was platinum blonde. Her eyes weren't murky like Hatsune and Kyohei's eyes, they were clear blue, like an undisturbed river or something.

Her resemblance to my dead teammate was unnerving and I nearly faltered but quickly gathered myself. "Hello, you must the infamous Hyuga Xin," Asuna stepped away from the oven. I almost told her to stay away from me but caught myself at the last second.

"Anything Hatsune said about me is only slightly true," I said in a half jokingly way. At the table, Hatsune snorted into her palm, turning away from Ukyo with a scowl. I looked over at her, smiling in a way that I knew would piss her off.

"Sounds like guilt to me," She stated simply, flipping some of her hair. My smile didn't falter, instead it only turned up in amusement. I approached her so I could pat her on the head much like I would do Ukyo or Hideki. Hatsune only huffed in offense as she tried to slap my hand away.

"Jealousy sure does suit you, huh?" I quipped.

Asuna laughed at my tormenting behavior. "They're like best friends, don't you think?" She mused while laughing into her fist. Hideki and Jura both snorted at the mere thought of their sister being my best friend. Now, that was really pushing it. Unless you considered our relationship a love/hate sort of thing. However, there barely was any love.

"The best of friends."

"Don't lie, you psycho!"

Kyohei eyed us uneasily before turning to Asuna. "How's Genji?" He asked casually. I was assuming that Genji was the husband who she lived with in Kiri. I glanced at Asuna, eyes focusing on her Chakra. There was something...

Oh.

Asuna took notice of my glance and smiled warmly. I only smiled back and waited. "He's doing well. He wanted to come with me but he got caught up with the council. I'm sure he'll be joining us in a couple of days," She explained with that same warm smiled. "Also...I have some exciting news," She was smiling even bigger as her siblings and Ukyo leaned forward in anticipation. They probably figured Asuna and Genji would be moving back to Suna.

Asuna rubbed her stomach fondly. "We're going to have a baby!"

Jura passed out.

* * *

"You missed dinner. Again."

Gaara shot me a quick look before going back to whatever he was obsessing over this time. "I'm not hungry," He stated simply before looking back at me once more. "Or tired, so don't bother trying to drag me back home. I have things to do and I'm behind on it."

I rolled my eyes and sighed heavily. It was well past midnight and after realizing Gaara wouldn't be home anytime soon, I threw some clothes back on, prepared some leftover dinner for him to eat and marched down to the tower. "Alright, I won't try but you could at least eat the food I brought for you."

"Xin..."

"Don't even bother, you're not the only one stubborn in here. Stubbornly stupid, maybe. Just eat the food so I don't have to fight you on this," I growled in exasperation before roughly placing the tupperware of dinner down on top of the current document he was working on. "I slaved over a hot stove, you're going to eat this shit or I swear I'll shove it down your throat."

"You're ridiculous."

"Fight me."

Gaara rolled his eyes and carefully placed his documents away before opening the tupperware. I nodded in compliance and turned to sway over to settle down on the couch. Seconds ticked by as we quietly left one another alone. But of course, me and my constant need to talk decided to ruin the silence. "I met Jura's older brother and sister earlier today."

Gaara simply paused in chewing. "Kyohei sustained some injuries from a mission so I went over there to heal him," I began to say casually, examining my nails. Gaara only grunted, a small indication that he was listening. "You know, on top on a very low Chakra, he had some peculiar injuries."

"Peculiar how?"

"The same injuries I gave to that rogue ninja the other night."

Gaara placed his chopsticks down and sat up a little straighter. "Xin, I know there's several things wrong with you but I know you're not paranoid _and _stupid."

"Are you trying to say I'm either paranoid or stupid?"

My redheaded pain in the ass said nothing, opting to innocently chew. I rolled my eyes and huffed. "Okay, hear me out, alright? I palmed the rogue in his throat and his chest, I broke his ribs and I kicked the shit out of him. I also broke his nose," I explained quickly. Gaara nodded, obediently following along. "Kyohei had a broken nose, two broken ribs and three bruises in the exact same places," I revealed to him, finally looking up from my nails. He was looking over at me, frowning.

"He's a ninja, Xin. Not only that, he's an ANBU member. He's going to sustain injuries out on missions but that doesn't mean you should accuse him of trying to assassinate us. Either way, he was out on a mission during the confrontation."

I stubbornly folded my arms. "I looked him dead in his eyes the first time and I knew those eyes when I saw them earlier today. I know my gut and my gut is telling me that Kyohei is not to be trusted. Now, you can sit in your glass bubble of ignorance all you want but I will not sit in there with you. Whether you want to admit it or not, Kyohei is trying to kill us, some of your citizens are trying to kill us and you should be just a tad bit more wary of who you let in."

"I've let you in."

"I'm not trying to kill you."

"Or so you say."

I only narrowed my eyes at him. Every time we were left in each others company, our conversations always turned to this subject. On whether or not I could be trusted not to kill him. "Don't you think I would have already killed you by now?"

"I don't know, Xin, you are a loose cannon. Why haven't you killed me by now?"

Gaara was a Kage for a reason at his age and it certainly wasn't because the villagers just loved him enough to allow this to happen. I could take care of myself just fine and I'd even say my skills are a lot more superior to any common shinobi. But that's the thing, Gaara isn't just some common shinobi. He's a Kage for a reason and I was just an ANBU member for a reason. I was strong. I was skilled. But my skills wouldn't cut it to be a Kage. Knowing that, I knew I had no business trying to actually fight Gaara, despite my many threats. I knew my place but that didn't mean I would let him know I knew.

"Because you're a wonderful kisser and how would I satisfy my craving for your kisses if you're buried out in the desert somewhere?" I asked tonelessly while widening my eyes and pursing my lips in an exaggerated manner.

Gaara eyed me for several seconds before I let a sly grin cross my face. He rolled his eyes and went back to eating. "I hate you," He mumbled quietly. My grin toned down into an almost tired smile. I shook my head and stood up.

"All I'm asking is that you be more careful around Kyohei, alright? I still don't like his vibe at all."

* * *

"You aren't very far along, Mikawa-San," I hummed thoughtfully as I checked over Asuna. "There's barely any traces of a Chakra signal," I continued to speak while laying a glowing hand over her flat stomach. "In fact..." I leaned a little closer as my Byakugan activated.

"Oh..oh, your eyes. Is that normal?" Asuna gaped at the appearance of my eyes, mouth shaped in a little 'o'. It was only a few days after making her announcement that Asuna came to the hospital to get checked up. For one reason another, she specifically requested that I be the one to see her.

What the hell was with this family?

"Ah? Oh, yeah. It's my family's kekkei genkai. It helps me view Chakra," I explained shortly, "Anyway, there's no problems as of now but like I said, you aren't very far along. You're barely a month along," I hummed while straightening up. "Do you have any concerns at the moment?"

Asuna frowned in thought, twirling a bit of her hair around her finger. "No, not at the moment," She said after a long pause. "I was thinking of returning to Suna with my husband to raise our child here," She suddenly said completely out of nowhere. I quirked an eyebrow and wondered why the hell she was telling me any of this.

"You see, my husband doesn't have any family in Kiri. They all died years ago so it's just us. But in Suna, there's Jura, Hatsune and Hideki. Plus Kyohei, whenever he's around. I've been thinking that it might be good for my child to grow up with a big family. And plus there's Ukyo-Chan and now you've come along."

Wait, what? Now _I've _come along? What in the world was that supposed to mean? It wasn't like I was marrying into her family or anything. Why would she consider me an important factor in her child's life? I'd probably end up corrupting the little one.

"May I ask you something personal, my Lady?"

"Doesn't everyone?"

"A-Ah?"

"Nothing, nothing. Go ahead."

Asuna seemed a little amused but continued on. "Since you're marrying Gaara-Sama, you are fully aware of his past, aren't you?"

I only stared at her. Oh dear...

I reclined in my chair, folding my legs underneath me. I noted that Asuna glanced at my bare feet with a quirked eyebrow but said nothing. "What exactly are you trying to ask, Mikawa-San?" I asked casually while balancing my cheek against my knuckles. Asuna twirled a lock of her pretty blonde hair around her finger. I wanted to just chop all that damn hair off. The resemblance between my teammates and Ukyo and Asuna really bothered me. Bothered me to the point where I wanted to punch the shit out of both of them.

But they probably frowned upon hitting pregnant women and children.

Not that I would hit...er...never mind.

"It's just...my Kazekage doesn't have the cleanest past. Actually, it's a nightmare, his past. I just hope you're well aware of all the things he's done when he was younger. You seem like a nice girl, a little quirky, but nice..."

I smiled sweetly, eyes closed. "I appreciate your concern, Mikawa-San. However, I know of his past and it doesn't bother me. The the way I see it, we're all shinobi and at some point, we're going to murder someone else. Some of us are just better at it or enjoy it more. I've done my share of deeds in the dark and let me tell you, my past isn't all that pretty either."

Asuna shifted when I opened my eyes to look at her. "Well, I'm glad you're so accepting of it. It's taken some time for Suna to accept him, let alone forgive him but you seem just fine," Asuna smiled tightly. She untwisted the lock of blonde hair and I watched as the lock curled up. Did she hate Gaara or something? Oh Christ, was she like her psychotic brother, hellbent on murdering Gaara? For fuck's sake, I didn't ask for any of this. What did I do to deserve being stalked? Oh, that's right. I agreed to marry Gaara. God, I hate everything.

I should really reevaluate my skills in making decisions.

"You aren't upset with what happened during your Chunin Exams? I heard the results of Suna's cooperation was your Third Hokage being killed," Asuna suddenly stated. I tapped my nails against my desk, tongue twisting and curling in my mouth in order to stop myself from viciously attacking her verbally.

"Orders are orders, aren't they? It's not like the Sand Siblings woke up one day and said 'let's go fuck shit up at the Chūnin Exams in Konoha', did they? They were ordered by the former Kage. It's in the past, I can't do anything about it," I tried to say calmly but I was ready to kick this woman in her face.

She's pregnant...she's pregnant...

When in the fuck did I get morals, damn it!?

"As for the Third, he died protecting our village. It was upsetting but these things happen, our Kages aren't Gods. They won't live forever, you know? Instead of worrying about Konoha's Hokage dying, shouldn't you worry about the circumstances of the former Kazekage's death? Heard he was murdered and the murderer dressed up as him and you Sand ninja were none the wiser. Now, I think that's some disrespectful shit."

Asuna's cheeks puffed out and I figured I hit a sore spot. I didn't need any more enemies than I already had, what with her crazy brother trying to run me through with his katana. So, I beat my annoyance back and shrugged nonchalantly. "But you know, that's all in the past. Konoha and Suna both have fully capable Kages. And we're even on better terms now, with me and Gaara getting married and all."

Which was a load of bullshit because if we were on better terms like I thought, I wouldn't have to get married to a former psychopath that didn't know or understand the meaning of personal space. But hey, what do I know to begin with?

Asuna nodded, smiling widely. More blonde locks slipped over her shoulder and I fantasized about hacking it all off. I almost felt like asking if she had any relations to Haruka. But what were the odds of that? Even if the resemblance was uncanny...and you know, Haruka had that suck ass personality like she was Hatsune mixed together with Asuna.

What were the odds?

* * *

"So, Ukyo seems to be alive. Still."

I only glanced at Kankuro with a look that clearly said I wasn't impressed. "Yes, she's still alive. And the sky is blue and I have no pupils. Anything else you want to discuss, Captain Obvious?" I snorted boyishly around a mouthful of food.

"Your sarcasm isn't attractive."

"Yeah? You know what else isn't attractive? My foot up your ass so shut the hell up."

Temari sighed loudly. "You guys. Not at the dinner table," She stated tonelessly. "And don't talk with your mouth full, Xin," She admonished me. I didn't bother glaring at her and opted to quietly chew with my mouth shut. Kankuro frowned, shooting me a glare. I only stuck my tongue out at him before downing a cup of my coffee. Temari eyed the beverage warily. "Xin, how many cups of coffee have you had since this morning?" She asked slowly. I only glanced at her and then glanced at my mug of coffee.

"Dunno. Five? Six? I had two cups before my lunch break was over and then I had another an hour later. Ukyo spilled that one cup so I didn't have some for awhile and then...I stopped by Gaara's office and had one on the way there...and then before making dinner I had three medical reports to fill out so I had one..."

"So you've had about seven cups, excluding this one right now..."

"Sounds about right."

"You have a problem."

I huffed and then puffed my cheeks out. "It's not a problem."

"Problem, addiction, obsession. Call it what you want but it's not healthy."

Before I could rebuff Temari's accusation, Gaara waltzed right into the dining room. The three of us turned to look at him, caught off guard. I looked down at the table to see that, yes, we were currently having dinner and that it was only eight o'clock in the evening. Way too early to have Gaara home. He ignored our stares, settling down and making a plate for himself. I glanced at his siblings and realized they were too damn stupefied by his sudden appearance to form a coherent sentence. Which left that up to me. As usual.

"Uh. Excuse me, sir. You lost or something? It's only eight o'clock. Does this look like an office to you?" I droned out, leaning over to nudge him with my shoulder. He only glanced at me before getting back up to pour himself some green tea.

Gaara settled down with his mug of green tea and looked over at me as if he'd forgotten I asked a question. What an asshole. He blinked three times before answering my question. "I know what time it is, no I'm not lost and no, this does not look like an office to me. It looks like the dining room in my house."

I only hummed and sat back, sipping my mug of coffee. It was quiet for a long time, it's not like him joining us for dinner bothered me. That just meant I wouldn't have to come to the office around midnight and fight with him to eat.

"Xin, that's your eighth cup, isn't it?"

"Oh my God, yes. Let me live, damn it!"

Gaara seemed a little disturbed with my sudden outburst. "We were just discussing Xin's unhealthy addiction to coffee before you came," Temari explained calmly, ignoring the vicious glare I sent her. I heard Kankuro mumble about how disgusting it was and made sure to glare at him too.

"It's not an addiction."

Gaara snorted. "Every time I see you, you have a cup of coffee. In the morning before leaving, coming to my office, hanging around my office, leaving my office, at the Hospital. Here. Cafes. You have a problem, Xin."

I gaped at him, offended. "Okay, listen here, you hypocrite, it's not an addiction or an obsession. It's a necessity. Ever worked at a Hospital? As a medic? Huh? You know how stressful that shit is? Of course not because no one ever asks us, they just come in with broken limbs and kunai knives sticking out the side of their fuckin' heads like fix me. It's draining. Okay? And you leave and think it's over for the day, right? Fuck no, you thought wrong. Medical reports to fill out for everyone! You wanna help me figure out how much pain medication I should prescribe to someone with reoccurring migraines without having them overdose? No? That's math. Are you good at it? Cuz' I'm not. I suck."

"You're bad at math? And here I thought you were a genius."

"Who the fuck said anything about me being a genius? Do I look like Neji to you?"

The Sand Siblings shared a disturbed look. "I'm not a genius," I huffed after several seconds. "I'm just good at certain things. Math obviously isn't one of them. I don't drink coffee because I like it. That shit can be disgusting, I don't even taste it anymore, honestly. But people are trusting me with their lives, you know? And it's not going to help anyone if I'm falling asleep at the operating table."

Gaara slowly nodded before starting on his dinner. Kankuro stared at me for a couple more seconds before he also went back to his meal. Temari was the only one who was still looking at me, a thoughtful expression across her usually calm face. I looked up at her, eyebrow quirked. Did I have some rice stuck to my face or something? Why was she staring at me like that?

"You know," She said slowly with a smile. "Once you get past the foul cursing and the obscene threats to kill anyone that breaths wrong, you're a pretty good person."

"Ew, don't be weird."

"Shut up and eat your dinner."

* * *

"Would you look at that. It's still dead..."

Ukyo pouted childishly and threw a dirty look at me. I whistled innocently and peered over her shoulder at the dead fish. "My office is beginning to smell like dead fish, Ukyo. Are you having trouble concentrating?" I asked while folding my arms over my chest. Ukyo's face darkened and she huffed, making a show of trying to concentrate on the fish. "Ah..." I mumbled and leaned further over to see what she was doing. "Staring at it won't do anything, you know," I hummed blandly. Ukyo's shoulders stiffened and she hunched closer to the fish.

Watching her for several seconds, I decided to take pity on her. "You know, if something is bothering you, you can tell me. I'm your teacher for a reason. Maybe you want to quit your training? Is medical training too much too much to handle on top of regular training?"

Training to be a medical ninja on top of regular training was probably the worst experience of my life. And I've had some pretty fucked up experiences. I remember once in the middle of training with Seiko and Haruka, I was distracted by trying to memorize all the medical terms in my head. Spacing out in the middle of a spar, Haruka punched me directly in my face and broke my nose.

I kicked the living shit out of her for that. To this day, I'm convinced she did it on purpose. If someone looks spaced out in the middle of a spar, you don't hit them hard enough to break their nose.

"I don't want to quit!" Ukyo suddenly exclaimed, knocking me right out of my thoughts. "It's just..um..." She suddenly paused, losing her nerve. Smiling, I settled down, kicking my shoes off. I shifted around, getting comfortable and nodded that I was ready. Ukyo turned away from the fish and tugged at a piece of her hair. "How do you know if someone likes you?" She asked, catching me off guard. I made a confused noise and blinked at her. I hadn't been expecting a question like that. I thought it was the training bothering her.

"Is this because of what I told you about love the other day? Remember I said it's not important now, you know? You're young," I reminded her of our chat the other day when she asked me about the silly notion of love.

"You and Kazekage-Sama are young and you're getting married."

Well. Shit. She had a point. Twisting my lips up, I nodded along to her words. "Well, this is true. But by the time I met Gaara, I was sixteen and working on my way to becoming an ANBU member. And you know...healing fish was a cakewalk to me by then..."

"My lady! Don't be mean!"

A laugh broke its way out of my mouth. "Right, right. Well, you see, the thing about love is that it's very tricky. Some people mistake kindness as flirtation, you know? Unless you're pretty confident, I don't think you'd be able to just tell if someone likes you. Unless they've hinted at it, I suppose."

"Then how did you know Kazekage-Sama liked you?"

"Well, he didn't murder me when he had the chance and I figured that was a pretty good sign," I laughed at her disturbed expression. "After meeting each other the first time, we started to spend a lot of time whenever he would come to Konoha with his siblings. I couldn't really tell, it's hard to read him. Honestly, I just took a chance with it and just kissed him one day."

Which was sort of the truth because I did randomly kiss Gaara one day.

"So you're saying I should just kiss him."

"Uh, no. I'm not saying that at all. You're twelve, don't boys still think girls are gross? I was being serious when I said you're too young right now. When I was twelve and saw Gaara at our Chūnin Exams, did you think I had love on my mind? No, I was trying to beat the crap out of my opponent because I wanted to be a Chūnin. You need to get your priorities in line, Ukyo. I'm telling you, love can wait."

Ukyo pouted under my harsh scolding. I sighed heavily and sagged my shoulders. "Ukyo, I'm telling you, there will be a time for it. Just not now, okay? You're just too young right now. Trust me, I've seen how distracting love can be when you're too young for it."

The little brunette continued to pout but nodded before turning away from me. I watched her for a couple more seconds before I turned back to the seventh report I'd neglect to fill out that day.

It took Ukyo thirteen more tries before the fish twitched.

Making progress.

* * *

One thing I always trusted was my gut feeling.

And right now, my gut feeling was telling me something was wrong in the house. Gaara was still at the office, Temari had something with the council and I think Kankuro might've gone out on a mission. I don't know, I still tended to tune him out. Which left me alone at the house. I eyed the house, noting how everything seemed so ominously quiet. Sighing heavily and deciding to just play into it without cheating, I slowly entered the house. I placed the medical reports down on the table next to the door.

Hearing nothing, I slowly slipped off my sandals. Glancing down at the floorboards and remembering which one was squeaky and which wasn't, I took deliberate steps. My chakra was already low from the exhausting day so it wasn't really a problem masking it. Whoever was in the house was probably aware that I was down there but not aware of how slowly I was making my way up.

The first four steps were squeaky and I had to hop up to the fifth step, landing on the tips of my toes. Placing my hand on the wall, I stopped myself from losing my balance and windmilling back down the stairs. Good God, maybe it wasn't a good idea to go around searching for trouble when you're running low on chakra.

Well, I've never been known for good ideas anyway.

Carrying on, I made my way up to the top of the stairs without anything happening. I made my way towards the front of the house, hand splayed out along the banister. Suddenly the linen closet door flew open and a black shape blurred out at me. I saw a flash of sliver and quickly dodged back. The katana gleamed in the moonlight from the window as it swung down, slicing into the banister. Twisting around in a quick spin, I swung my leg up and crashed the heel of my foot into the side of his head. I watched with blank eyes as the black figure toppled over the banister and down the stairs.

Hopping up on the banister, I stared down as he tried to gather his wits. I jumped off of the banister and pointed my feet straight down. He managed to scramble out of the way at the last second and my feet slammed into the stairs. I broke right through the foundation, causing a huge hole in the staircase and fell right into the basement.

Well, fuck. The Sand Siblings were going to be pissed.

I had only seconds to roll out of the way when the figure came down with his katana blade ready to stab through my head. The only light I had to help me see was coming through the hole in the stairs. And it wasn't much. Well. Fuck me. I stared at the figure. Familiar body type. Familiar stance. And if I squinted hard enough, familiar murky blue eyes. I scowled harshly, I literally just healed this fucker two days ago and he was already back for more.

"I'm going to break your fuckin' kneecaps," I snarled at him. "And then I'm going to tear that arm off and beat you with it. I'm going to rip your tongue out and shove it back down your throat. And when your siblings find you on their doorstep, I'm going to heal you just enough that you're not dead but you're still too injured. I'm going to keep you alive and slowly but surely torture you."

The figure said nothing, probably trying to feign ignorance. "I know who you are," I stated simply, readying myself. "And if you don't leave now, I will kill you."

Still, the figure in black remained quiet. Pursing my lips, I nodded and held my fists up. He darted at me with a quickness that made me curse. My chakra was too low so I didn't even bother with my Byakugan. That meant I had to rely on regular taijutsu alone. Which wasn't much of a problem but let's not forget that my opponent is fully healed with his chakra at max power. Plus, he was pretty damn good with a blade and seemed like he was too quick to handle.

I flipped backwards, my foot catching his chin and causing him to stumble backwards. He recovered quickly and swung the blade horizontally. I ducked out of the way and suddenly felt like my ponytail was lighter.

Oh hell no. This fucker cut off a chunk of my hair.

Already crouched down, I rolled forward and caught him by extending my leg and throwing it against his chest, pinning him down to the ground. I was up, stomping him in the chest and causing him to heave and gag. I lifted my leg high in the air (_grateful that today I was wearing pants and not a skirt_) and slammed it down. He managed to scramble out of the way and my bare foot painfully created a dent in the cemented floor. I spun on that same foot and slammed my foot into his head. I think that with all those kicks to the head, he probably had brain damage at this point.

I paused, ready to see if he was down for the count. Remembering that he wasn't tired as I was, he came right back at me. I cursed and barely dodged out of the way. My sloppy and slow reaction cause the katana to slice into my cheek. The blood poured out of the cut immediately . He swung the katana again, catching my forehead with the tip as I scrambled backwards. Blood gushed out of the wound and into my eye, momentarily blinding me. Damn it all to Hell, that was never a good thing.

I flew at him, jumping up and and locking my legs around his throat. Twisting my body and using my weight to my advantage, I swung around and threw him to floor. Had I been using the move seriously, I would've been able to snap his neck. But where's the fun in that?

Readying myself for another attack, I suddenly paused when I heard the front door upstairs open. "Xin?" Temari called out, clearly not noticing the gaping hole in the stairs. I didn't take my eyes off of my opponent, waiting. He glanced up and suddenly pulled something from his pouch.

Seeing what it was, I gaped at him. "Hold the fuck on you pathetic exuse-" the insult didn't have time to leave my mouth when he threw the smoke bomb down. The bomb exploded, filling the basement with smoke. There was the sound of something slamming and I assumed it was the basement door.

I had to wonder why he didn't take this chance to kill me. He totally could have, what with blinding me not only with the smoke but with the blood pouring into my eye. Maybe with all those kicks to the head, he was just as disoriented as I was. My head was spinning and I wasn't sure if it was from the smoke or the blood loss.

"Oh my God, what the hell happened to the stairs!? Xin!"

Yeah, sure, blame it on the victim...

* * *

Well, I'm proud to say I didn't punch any of the medics this time, so there's that. When they asked me how I managed to sustain two heard injuries, I told them I fell through a weak floorboard. I'm pretty certain that they saw through my shitty lie but with a crack of my knuckles, they backed off. My feet were also bruised and oh yeah, there's that chunk of hair I'm now missing. I'd grown my hair out just slightly past my waist and now it was hanging diagonally above the middle of my back. I was going to have to cut it to even it out.

Just as I was climbing out of the bed they forced me in, the door swung open to reveal two of the Sand Siblings. I glanced up at them through my bangs and sighed heavily before slowly settling back down before they could tell me I wasn't cleared to leave yet. "So," I said first, breaking the awkward silence. "How was your day? Stressful?" I asked casually, fingering a strand of my hair. The two glanced at one another before looking back towards me. I could see they were not amused with my blase attitude.

"What the hell did you do to my house?" Temari demanded, eyes light up in fury. I only looked back at her with a furrowed brow. Okay, yeah, never mind the fact that I was attacked for the third time in the the span of two months.

"Because you know, _my _day was pretty stressful. As usual. But that's nothing new, I guess. You know, regular shit that happens to any kunoichi. Oh, but you know, there was that one moment today when a rogue came running out of a linen closet intent on stabbing me through the head with his God-forsaken katana. I fell through the stairs, was blinded by my own blood and oh, got a chunk of my fuckin' hair cut off. On top of all of this, my Chakra count is practically nonexistent so I had to rely on the moonlight and just simple taijutsu to defend myself. But I'm alright. Could totally use a cup of coffee."

The room was silent for several seconds as they stared at me. I only stared back, one eyebrow quirked with pursed lips. "I..." Temari glanced at her youngest brother. "I'm going to see if she's cleared to leave."

Ah, yes, Temari, get out while you can.

The room was swallowed up into awkward silence for the umpteenth time. "Xin..." Gaara approached me, regarded me carefully like I was some desperate and cornered animal. "Are you alright?"

"Really? That's what you ask? Am I alright. Do I look alright to you? My hair is missing! It's lying on a basement floor!" I suddenly snapped at him. I almost threw the pretty vase of flowers at his head but decided not to. Gaara glanced at the door and I'm sure he was regretting letting Temari leave without him. I only scowled harshly at him. I pulled my mangled hair over my shoulder, the frown turning into a pout as I caressed the ruined midnight blue locks.

My husband to be closed in on me, standing at my bedside. "It was Kyohei again," I said, making it a point to ignore his expression. "I know what I saw, Gaara. I know it was him and he knows that I know it's him. You can't tell me shit else."

He settled down on the edge of the bed next to me and didn't say anything for a long time. "What do you want me to do, Xin? There's no real evidence against him to incriminate him."

"Who says we need evidence? Let me just break his fuckin' legs, bet he'll admit everything if we just use a little of my interrogation skills."

"_He_ put _you_ in the _Hospital_."

"Yeah? And I kicked him in his head several times. He probably has brain damage now. Twenty bucks says Jura will be in here tomorrow asking me to come see him and this time I'm not going to heal him. I want his stupid ass to suffer. Suffer for what he did to my hair."

Gaara stared at me and I'm sure if he had eyebrows, one of them would be quirked. But he didn't so he looked at me with a pretty blank expression. "You've been rambling a lot, lately."

"I ramble all the time, Gaara. It's nothing new, really."

He seemed thoughtful and nodded. "Well, high-strung, then. You seem high-strung lately. Do you need a break from the Hospital?"

I sighed heavily and leaned my head back. "No, Gaara, I don't need a break from the Hospital. I need to kill something. I'm constantly being targeted by a man I can't fuckin' kill. I'm getting cabin fever and if something isn't done, I'm going to murder one of you. Likely one of the Mikawa siblings."

"Even the boy?"

"No. I like the boy. The boy is safe, he can stay."

Gaara laughed and I laughed along with him. Although my laugh sounded exhausted and pathetic. The redhead suddenly reached over and I almost dodged backwards, remembering his problem with understanding the concept of personal space. A rough hand dipped into my ruined hair, tangling and coiling the locks around fingers until his hand was barely noticeable. He pulled his hand away seconds later, pushing my bangs away to probably check if there had been any new scars. Luckily, the medics had gotten to the gushing wounds quick enough.

I only stared at him before slowly reaching up to push his hand away. "I feel fine, you know. I think it's time we head home and try to figure out what to do about the stairs. Wouldn't want anyone to fall through the that big ass hole. You know. Like I did."

Gaara regarded me with a strange look in his eyes. Like he was finally taking notice that I actually had a face or something. Slightly unnerved, I slipped out of the bed and rounded the bed towards the door, leaving him at the bed. "Well? Come on," I urged without looking at him.

The three of us returned to the house just in time to see Kankuro fall right through the hole in the floor.

Totally not my fault.

* * *

I blinked and suddenly it's August, Jesus Christ on a stick, where did the summer go? lol. I'm alive, don't worry guys. I'm totally here. Sort of. Anyway, hope you guys haven't abandoned ship and you're still here. Feed me reviews. Promise I won't take two months to update again.


	11. Angels choking on their halos

Kankuro didn't speak to me for two days.

In my opinion, he was being completely ridiculous even though I insisted that it wasn't my fault. After all, who doesn't look around when they first come home? We're ninja, doesn't the thought of enemies attacking the house ever occur to him?

Guess not.

Jura had come asking me to see Kyohei again. Apparently, his older brother was complaining of severe migraines that came completely out of nowhere. Yep. Completely out of nowhere. Doesn't sound suspicious at all. Luckily for me, I used the excuse of having a hair appointment that I couldn't be late to. Kyohei was just going to have to suck it up and take painkillers. Or get his ass to the hospital to see one of the other medics.

Cutting my hair was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. And believe me when I say I've done some hard things. But cutting my hair? Oh, God, it took everything in me not to snatch the scissors from that prissy stylist and stab her with it. Instead, I settled for pulling me knees to my chest and groaning during the whole process.

My hair had been the only thing I fretted over. It was long, luscious and beautiful and it didn't just happen over night. Oh, no. I cultivated my hair much like Gaara cultivated his stupid plants. I cared more for my hair than I cared for my actual face. It was the best thing about me, honestly.

And now it hung just above my back. My hair had been long enough to reach past my waist. And now it hung pathetically above the middle of my back. Kyohei was going to fuckin' pay whenever he came at me next time.

"It's not that bad," Temari stated tonelessly as I followed her down the crowded roads. On top of having to hack my hair off, I also had an appointment down at the Tailor's for my wedding kimono. I refused to go by myself after having to deal with cutting my hair off. Since Gaara was forever busy and Kankuro was still throwing a hissy fit, that left the eldest Sand Sibling to drag me to the perverted old woman, Yura. I refused to go by myself and I needed Temari to witness her odd behavior.

I glanced at her hair, eyeing the four pigtails she always insisted on wearing. I'd seen her wear her hair down once and I think it was to her shoulders or maybe a little bit past her shoulders. "I don't want to hear that coming from a grown woman still wearing pigtails," I sniffed blankly. The look Temari shot at me could have killed me if it was possible. My lips, which had been set in a firm scowl, twitched into a smile as I let out a laugh. "Okay, that was rude. Sorry. I'm just a little frustrated."

Temari only hummed in reply, probably sore about my comment. Well, it was an honest question. She was two years older than me, meaning she was twenty. She was twenty years old and still wearing pigtails trying to tell me my sheared locks wasn't that bad. "Yura-San!" Temari called out as she brushed the curtain aside and stepped into the crazy seamstress' territory. I looked around warily, waiting for the old hag to come at me trying to grope my ass or something.

"Good afternoon, Temari, my Lady!" Yura came from the goddamn shadows, smiling widely. "So lovely to see the both of you," She beamed as Temari bowed. She pinched my side, causing me to bow my head.

The old crone came towards me, looping her measuring tape around my waist. She muttered that my waist hadn't changed and and flitted around me, pausing behind me. "What happened to your back? That wasn't there before," Yura took notice of the scar peeking out from underneath my tank top.

Without warning, she hooked one of her bony fingers into my tank top and yanked it down. Temari's eyes were wide as she stared at my breasts while Yura stood behind me fretting over the scar. She sprang forward suddenly and yanked the top back up, nearly pulling it over my head in her haste. "Yura-San!" Temari exclaimed in exasperation. I only stared at her blankly. Now did she see what this crazy woman was about? She only sighed heavily as I readjusted the straps of my tank top. "If she's wearing a wedding kimono why does it matter if there's a scar on her back?"

Yura peeked from around me, frowning with a confused glint in her eyes. "You don't know? The wedding kimono had been changed to a normal, modern wedding dress," She told us with a frown before turning away.

Temari looked at me with a wide eyed glare. I only held up my hands in my defense. "I didn't even know I had the power to change the dress," I whispered to her in a low frantic voice. Her eyebrows knitted together as Yura poked around at her cluttered workstation.

My eyebrow twitched at the mess but I held myself back from going into my freak OCD mode that I was infamous for back in Konoha. So I liked everything to be clean and in order. I didn't see the problem with that but Naruto refused to let me into his messy apartment after I freaked the fuck out and cleaned his apartment from top to bottom that one time. Apparently he knew where everything was and I had done more harm than good.

Whatever.

Yura suddenly pulled a folder out from underneath...other messy folders. She flipped it open and pulled out a single note. "One of the council members delivered this to me some time ago. I had to scarp the entire wedding kimono per orders," She said simply as Temari took it. I approached her side to read the note, insisting that the apparel for the wedding be changed immediately.

"This is...Gaara's handwriting," I said first with a raise of my eyebrows. Temari only glanced at me with a quirked eyebrow. How did I know what his handwriting looked like? It probably had something to do with me constantly wrestling all of his work out from underneath him so he would eat.

"Gaara ordered this?" Temari asked quietly. She handed the note back to Yura and then turned to me like I had the answers. All I could do was shrug. I had no idea Gaara ordered these type of changes. He hadn't said anything to me.

"Well, either way, I've made a prototype and I want you to try it on. See how it fits and if I need to change anything," Yura shoved me towards the changing screen, fingers brushing against my ass. Old perverted witch.

I slipped out of my clothes and eyed the dress strung up. Twisting my lips, I carefully slid into it and glanced into the mirror. Well. I wasn't expecting a turn out like this. I actually looked like...a normal bride. And not a sadistic, crazed kunoichi. Miracles were possible, eh?

"Xin?" Temari called from the other side. Probably wondering if I needed any help before Yura could offer it. "Are you alright?" She asked slowly, actually sounding like she was concerned. I smiled softly at the thought of the blonde. We'd been butting heads every since I stomped a hole through the stairs but I preferred her out of the three siblings.

"No, no. I'm alright. I was just...it's a pretty dress, is all," I uttered softly before coming from behind the divider. I wrung my fingers nervously as they both studied the wedding dress.

"Oh...wow," Temari breathed softly. A sweet smile graced her mouth, painting her face in such a beautiful light. I sometimes wondered why she didn't smile a lot. Her face was always set so seriously, like a damn rock. "You look beautiful, Xin. That dress is perfect for you."

Yura nodded knowingly. "Kazekage-Sama won't be able to keep his hands off of you," She commented slyly. My eyebrow only twitched. Of course her mind would go straight there.

Out of this entire wedding fiasco, at least the dress was pretty.

* * *

Ukyo asked a lot of questions.

Which, I suppose wasn't a problem. But it proved to be rather annoying when I was trying to concentrate. At least most of her questions involved medical ninjutsu but she did ask a question every now and then that had nothing to do with anything.

Like "how exactly did you manage to grow your breasts to their size?"

Genetics.

"How come you don't tan or burn from the sun?"

Genetics.

"Why are your hips so wide?"

Genetics.

I was slaving over creating a mixture of poison that Shizune showed me some months before coming to Suna when Ukyo paused. I had her studying anatomy but I knew that sudden pause meant she had another question. I put the two mixtures down, not wanting to cause a poisonous explosion and simply waited. "...My lady?"

And there it is.

She turned her blue eyes on me, smiling nervously. "I was just wondering..." She began to say. I turned towards her, propping my elbow against the desktop and balancing my cheek against my fist. This was something normal to us, now. "Can you use medical ninjutsu offensively?" She asked, her eyes light up in question. I blinked, caught off guard by the question. I was expecting some random question about the shape of my eyes or how short I was. Not something that actually had to with her training. I smiled down at her, glad that she was taking things seriously.

"Of course you can. It's called the Chakra scalpel. You form your chakra into sharp blades. Usually it's used during medical procedures for creating incisions or dissections. But some medics can use it as a weapon. You cut muscle tissues and tendons, causing your opponent to be rendered immobile," I explained to her.

Ukyo puckered her lips and thought of her next question. "Do you know how to do that?" She asked slowly. I only quirked an eyebrow but nodded slowly. I didn't often use that sort of technique too much because it took much precision. It also wasn't as satisfying as hearing someone's bones crunching under your fist but hey, that's just my preference. Again, Ukyo took the time to think her next question over. "Could you teach me that?"

"Are you any good at taijutsu?" I asked instead of flat out saying no. If she wasn't good at taijutsu then teaching her how to use the Chakra scalpel would be useless. In order to do damage, she'd have to get in close on her enemy. And from what I've seen so far of the Sand Shinobi, they all had a tendency to be long-ranged fighters.

Ukyo nodded. "I had high marks in taijutsu but I preferred using ninjutsu and genjutsu," She told me. I nodded, I didn't know that and I was pretty impressed. If she didn't have the attention span of a rodent, she'd be a perfect kunoichi.

"Well, I could teach you but it's a lot harder than learning normal medical ninjutsu. This would include physical training. Sparring and all that. Kankuro had some objections when he first heard I was going to train you. Doesn't want me to hurt you," I told her, watching her frown softly. "So when I told him that medical ninjutsu wouldn't really include me hurting you, he was fine. However, this type of training, you're going to get your ass kicked. If you're up for it, I can teach you."

Ukyo continued to frown as she thought it over. "Kankuro-Sensei has been focusing more on Hideki and Usui. You know, Hideki has taken up puppets and Usui still is a Genin. So I was thinking learning more from you would be better than me just always practicing things I already know while he focuses on Hideki and Usui."

Well, holy shit. Knowing I couldn't really fight that logic, I nodded. "Alright then. If you're up to it, we're going to spar," I said while slipping my sandals on. I heard Ukyo let out a weird noise as I rose to my height.

"Right now?"

"You bet your little ass right now. Put that book away and follow me. I want you to show me what ya got."

* * *

The same night I was slaving away over Spicy Curry along with mixed vegetable rice and Miso Soup. Temari was helping since I figured you can't mess up vegetable rice or Miso soup. And I figured all of this helping would pay off and she'd learn how to make food that didn't taste like utter shit.

Anyway, there I was, leaning over a hot stove tasting some of the Spicy Curry when the front door slammed open. "You evil little hobbit!" Kankuro shouted from the foyer. I only paused with the wooden spoon pressed to my lips. Temari and I shared a quick glance before I continued to taste the Spicy Curry. Although I've had it before, I've never made it so I wanted to make sure it didn't taste like something out of my ass.

We could hear Kankuro stomping his way down to the kitchen, grumbling and muttering to himself. "I know you hear me, you twisted little ogre!" He snapped as soon as he stepped into the hot kitchen.

I glanced at him and placed the wooden spoon down. I slowly turned to him, fingers drumming against the counter top next to the spoon. My other hand was resting against my hip. "How was your day, Kankuro?" I asked with a blank look, ignoring all of his insults.

Kankuro shot me a mean look. "Why is Ukyo currently trying to heal a bruise on the side of her face?" He demanded through clenched teeth. Temari finally turned from the vegetable rice, a confused frown across her face.

I let out a slow breath and my fingers tapped harder against the counter. "Because she doesn't understand the concept of dodging," I stated dryly. I think Temari might have snorted in humor but quickly tried to cover it up by coughing.

He didn't think it was funny at all. "Why were you sparring with her, Xin? Medics don't need to spar. You heal. You said you wouldn't hurt her but she has a big ass bruise on the side of her face like you kicked her!"

My pinky brushed against the wooden spoon. "First off, I never said I wouldn't hurt her. I said I'd try not to murder her. Second, I _did _kick her, she didn't dodge, not my fault. And third, what type of fuckin' medic doesn't know how to spar? We're still ninja and we're still capable of fighting."

"And you know what? It wasn't like I said, hey, let me just kick you in the side of your face, or some shit. No, Ukyo asked me if it's possible to use medical ninjutsu offensively. This was her idea and you know why she wants to learn how to use it offensively? It's because you, Sensei of the fuckin' year, are too busy focusing on the boys to even try to help her develop her own style!"

Kankuro seemed surprised. Good. None of this bullshit was my fault. "You're too busy treating her like some fragile flower, you're holding her back from using her full potential. And she has a lot of promise, Kankuro. That girl could be great but her confidence in her own abilities suck because you won't let her explore them. If you're so against my teaching methods, why don't you pull your head out of your ass and train her your goddamn self since I'm clearly just kicking the fuck out of her for shits and giggles."

The kitchen was awkwardly quiet as Kankuro mulled over my words. Temari let out a slow breath. "Alright, listen, I get that you're protective of your students but in order for Ukyo to be an accomplished kunoichi, she is going to have to get hurt. Just like I used to get hurt and Xin used to get hurt when we were training. If you're not going to focus on Ukyo like you've been focusing on Hideki and Usui like Xin says you haven't, then you should leave her in Xin's care."

Kankuro shot Temari a look for siding with me. "And since Kankuro is Ukyo's primary Sensei, Xin, you should have told Kankuro that there's a different type of training instead of the one you agreed on."

This time it was my turn to shoot her a look for siding with Kankuro. Rolling my eyes, I sagged my shoulders. "Listen, if Ukyo wants to learn how to be a great medic, she's going to have to get her hands dirty. That may mean I might break her leg and tell her set it and heal it. I might punch her in the eye and tell her to defend herself while healing her eye. I might even poison her. This is what I meant when I said training to be a medical ninja is not what people think it is."

Kankuro was frowning stubbornly. "Is that how Lady Tsunade trained you and Sakura-San?"

I snorted. "Tsunade whooped our asses. I'm a field of fuckin' daisies compared to that psychopath. You should be glad I'm not like that pigtail wearing demon in disguise. I thought I was actually going to die. Several times."

This time, Temari did laugh.

* * *

"Xin..."

"Oh, you're home early."

I was reclining on the sofa with a mug of coffee and three medical reports that had to be turned in tomorrow morning. "It's three in the morning, Xin," Gaara uttered, causing me to pause and blink rapidly. My eyes found the clock to see that it was 3:15, actually.

"Huh. Guess you're not early," I chuckled. Gaara only hummed and suddenly set a medium sized box on the coffee table. I looked at it and then glanced up at him with a quirked eyebrow. "Why, if I didn't know any better, I'd say this is an early birthday present. Aren't you thoughtful?" I grinned up at him and sat up a little bit.

"We're nowhere near your birthday."

"Early wedding gift? Oooh, maybe it's one of those 'thanks for being you' type of gifts."

Gaara laughed and picked up the box once more and settled down next to me. "Put the work away," He ordered, motioning to my reports. I actually scoffed but leaned forward to place the reports on the coffee table. Once I leaned back into the couch, he handed me the box. "It's from Konoha."

That made me frown. I hadn't gotten so much as a letter from anyone back in Kohoha. It was a little disappointing but everyone still had their own lives to get on with. Just because I was gone didn't mean anything. Besides, it's not like I bothered to pen any letters to them. Maybe I should. At least to my sisters. And my Mother.

I used my pen to stab through the tape sealing the box closed and dug into it, pulling out three medium sized picture frames. Flipping them over with a confused frown, I stopped short while making a quiet noise. I was staring at three pictures of my team throughout or brief five years together. The first being taken the first day we were assigned teams as bickering twelve year old girls, the second was when we were getting along better around when we were fourteen and the last was taken a week before they died when we were sixteen.

Gaara leaned over to see what had me so quiet. "Is this your team?" He asked, taking the first picture. I stared at the sixteen version of myself with a soft frown.

"Yeah," I leaned over closer to him and indicated the oldest member of the team. Lena had been a tall woman with thick curly black hair that swayed down her back. Her eyes had been the brightest pink I'd see in my life. "That's Lena." Haruka, like Asuna, had long blonde hair that she would often tie up in double pigtails and blue eyes that would remind you of a blue sky. Seiko had dark green eyes and dull red hair that was cropped to sit just above her shoulders. "And that's Haruka and that's Seiko."

The last picture is where the four of us truly looked happy. By that time, we'd practically grown into a little family with inside jokes and weekly lunches. At that time, I'd been studying to become an ANBU member while Seiko and Haruka had been working to become Jonin to go on more missions with Lena. We took the picture to commemorate the last time we'd go on a mission together as a team before I would start taking on different missions. "You look very happy," Gaara commented quietly as my eyes flickered. I could only hum as a stream of memories began to jump to the front of my mind.

"_It had to be done," _the voice suddenly sprang to life, pushing at the memories playing behind my eyelids. _"You know it had to be done. It was them or you, girl. They were weak and they paid for it." _My grip on the frames tightened and I quickly dropped them back into the box before I could shatter them. _"Remember, it's survival of the fittest. Eat or be eaten." _

I screamed at the voice to shut up. I screamed until something in me cracked. I don't know what it was but the voice sank back into the darkest pit of my mind where it belonged until it would crawl back out once more. "I'm sure they were good people," Gaara suddenly stated, pulling me from my inner screaming. I blinked and looked at him with a small frown.

It was strange to hear Gaara trying to comfort me. After all, we didn't like each other. But perhaps he was trying to put himself in my shoes. Maybe he was trying to imagine his team, his siblings, suddenly dying on a mission with just him left. "Yes, they were good people. Didn't deserve to die but that's the life of a Shinobi, you know? We put our lives on the line," I shrugged, not wanting to talk about my dead team. "Speaking of which, did you change my wedding kimono to a wedding dress?"

"The wedding literally has nothing to do with what we were just talking about."

"Sure it does," I said with a bright smile. "Now, you gonna answer or not? Cuz' I'd really love to know why I'm suddenly allowed to wear a modern dress when it was agreed that we'd have a traditional wedding," I shrugged one shoulder. "And don't say you don't know what I'm talking about. Temari and I both saw the note. I know your handwriting. It's kind of girly."

Gaara snorted, looking forward but not really looking at anything. He stayed quiet for a long time and I almost pinched him for ignoring me. "You pointed out that neither of us have much control over this wedding, even though it's our wedding. It might be fake but it is ours."

I said nothing, slightly impressed with his explanation. I figured that he'd been fine with allowing the council to make every decision. He was a man, after all, and it's not like they really got excited over the wedding planning. They mostly sat there, looking pretty, while their crazed love made every decision.

It was quiet for a long time between us, I think we were both thinking of the choices we've made that led us to this point. What choices we could have made to avoid coming to this point. Oddly enough, I wouldn't change anything I've done in the past that eventually led me to this shitty point. And you know what's even more odd about it? I don't think Gaara would've changed anything, either.

* * *

"You're going to break my arm."

"Stop your bitching."

Sometimes Gaara and I could have civil conversations but mostly our time together was spent badgering one another. It's just how we functioned, I guess. I mean, we hid it well enough, seeing as how we had both Suna and Konoha fooled. We were on one of our strolls, you know, to make sure everyone could see just how much we loved spending time together and everything, and were currently quietly bickering with one another.

It was like second nature, at this point.

"Kazekage-Sama!"

Oh, for fuck's sake.

The Mikawa siblings. All of them, too. Well, Hideki was missing. Probably training with Kankuro and Usui. And hopefully Ukyo, too. Kankuro was still her primary teacher and hopefully he took both mine and Temari's word of advice on giving Ukyo equal attention. So that left us with Hatsune, Jura, Asuna and Kyohei to approach us.

Great.

It wasn't until they were closely upon us that they even noticed me. Gaara's larger frame easily blocked my smaller frame from view. I leaned around him, smiling in greeting. "My Lady! We didn't even see you there, good afternoon," Asuna greeted with a bright smile. Hatsune and Kyohei both mumbled and grumbled their greetings while Jura waved wildly at me with a grin. I matched his grin with my own grin.

"Hello," I greeted sweetly. "I heard you had horrible migraines the other day, Kyohei-San. Are you feeling better?" I asked innocently.

Kyohei slowly turned his eyes on me and I could see the hidden rage and hate spark to life for a second before it died down into something somber. "I'm feeling better, thank you for asking, my Lady. Susu convinced me to go to the hospital," He uttered simply. I noticed his fingers twitching but I said nothing, continuing to smile despite knowing all he wanted to do was kill me.

Asuna suddenly blushed heavily and shoved at Kyohei's shoulder. "Don't use that nickname in front the _Kazekage_, Kyo," She hissed at him. Kyohei actually cracked a smile and snickered along with Jura. Huh. Guess he was just a normal brother when he's not trying to stab me through my fuckin' eye socket.

"Xin tells me you are expecting, Mikawa-San," Gaara suddenly said to the eldest Mikawa daughter. The blonde paused in shoving at her brother and turned back to Gaara, smiling sweetly.

"I am. We are, my husband and I. We just found out and I requested that Xin-Sama would be my primary caregiver," She made idle chit-chat. Behind her, I blankly watched as Hatsune ogled Gaara, smiling and tittering to herself. Jura must have noticed her ogling because he discreetly elbowed her side. She faltered, shot him a dirty look and then pouted.

"My fiancée seems quite popular with Suna," Gaara returned her idle chit chat pleasantly. Oh, yeah, I was popular alright. Popular as in these random idiots I've never even met a day in my life suddenly wanted to kill me. Totally popular.

Hatsune was eyeing me with a thoughtful frown. "You cut your hair, my Lady?" she suddenly asked, noticing my shortened locks. Temari insisted that it wasn't that bad and it was barely noticeable but clearly she's full of shit.

"Ah, yeah. I had an accident with someone who doesn't know how to handle their katana well," I stated airily. Kyohei visibly bristled and Jura glanced at him, dark brow raised in question.

"Perhaps they were aiming for something and you dodged out of the way," Kyohei stated with a tight frown. I looked at him him, smiling sweetly.

"Perhaps," I shrugged one shoulder. "But personally I feel that they're rather sloppy with their technique. Regardless if I dodged out of their way, if they were a master swordsmen like they should be, they would have been able to hit their intended target without using my hair as target practice."

Kyohei's frown became even more tighter. "Well, I think your hair looks nice like that," Jura stated, maybe he was actually taking note of the tense atmosphere for once and wanted to draw our attention away. I turned my tight smile towards him and it relaxed into a genuine smile. Well, at least Jura had something nice to say about it.

"You know, my Lady," Kyohei suddenly drew my attention back towards him. I only quirked an eyebrow. "Both Hatsune and Jura have been telling me you're an expert in hand to hand combat," He stated casually.

I only stared up at him through my bangs. "I wouldn't say I'm an expert at anything. I just know how to get by," I shrugged my shoulders, trying to feign disinterest. Hatsune and Jura were glancing at each other nervously.

Kyohei only nodded. "Would you be up for some sparring?"

Obviously I was never one to back down from anything. And I'm sure they could see it in my face. I stepped forward to accept his challenge but was halted when Gaara pulled his arm from my grasp to slip it around my waist. He pinned me to his side without even glancing at me. His eyes were slightly narrowed as he regarded Kyohei. Asuna glanced in between the two, frowning. She placed her hand lightly on her brother's shoulder. "Do you think that's a good idea, Kyo? We just got rid of those migraines you were suffering from yesterday. Maybe you should hold off. Besides, you should relax just a bit before you have your next mission, don't you think, Kazekage-Sama?"

Gaara nodded quietly, a silent warning drafting down from his pretty eyes. "And you know, they were trying to enjoy a walk out together," Jura suddenly piped up. He'd been guilty of interrupting one of our walks for a spar in the past. "We should leave them to it," He offered thoughtfully. They bade us a goodbye and was on their way, leaving us. Once they were out of my sight, I craned my neck up to stare at Gaara. He was still looking in the direction the Mikawa siblings had gone off to.

"Something not quite right with Kyohei, honey?"

"Shut up, Xin."

* * *

"Well now, what did I tell you? See, don't these colors look so much better together?" Xin asked cheerfully as she flipped through the wedding binder. The council hadn't called for an impromptu meeting again, probably didn't want to deal with Xin's erratic behavior. That's what Gaara figured, anyway.

She was perched on the edge of his desk with her legs folded underneath her. She had the strange habit of sitting on his desk instead of sitting on the couch. She also had a strange habit of wandering around barefoot.

No matter how many times he told her to sit on the couch or to put her sandals back on, she rarely heeded his warnings. Some days he simply shoved her off of her careful perch, resisting the urge to laugh when she'd land in a heap with a squawk. Other days he would just allow her to wander out of the tower without her shoes, chuckling when she would shout from the hot sand stinging her feet.

"Here, look," She twisted around and slid closer to him. She jumped from her perch and suddenly settled herself right in his lap. Quite honestly, he wasn't sure how to react from her sudden bold move. Although she didn't seem bothered by their close proximity, he was positive this was not something they did in their twisted relationship.

She flipped the binder open to show him the colors she'd pick out herself. "See? Don't you see how well the colors go? The navy brings out the other lighter colors really well, it's all so pretty. See, the bridesmaids can wear one of the purple colors, maybe the lilac and then the maid of honor could wear the rose-gold. Well, I dunno, just because we're doing a modern apparel doesn't mean everything else will be modern, now that I think about it," She paused, tapping her nail against the pages.

"You think I can scare the council into making this entire wedding modern? But the problem with bridesmaids and maids of honor is that I have no friends to fill those roles. All my friends and sisters are back home. You think they'd travel to Suna to be in the wedding? Oi, are they even invited? I have no guests. Everyone will be here for you."

He was drowning in the aroma wafting from her. It was sweet with something spicy added in there. Like flowers and pepper. From a dark corner of his mind, the Shukaku hummed to life with a snicker. Pepper and flowers? Gaara tried to focus on her rambling but her scent was causing him to be dizzy and the Shukaku was crowing about the view down her shirt. He tried his damned hardest to ignore the perverted hooting and hollering about her impressive rack.

Those were his words. Not Gaara's words.

"Gaara, are you listening to me?" Xin sighed dramatically, disrupting his inner argument between the Shukaku and himself. The bluenette made a strange noise in the back of her throat, sagging in exaggerated irritation and exasperation against him. "I swear, guys are totally useless when it comes to weddings. You know, one of my clanswoman got married last year and I only saw her husband making one suggestion for the entire thing. It's like you guys have no opinion on anything," She babbled like she often did, completely missing how stiff he'd become.

Gaara only hummed as Xin went back to flipping through the binder, stopping to point out things she liked or disliked about the preparations. The entire time she remained oblivious, even when he would shift underneath her. She didn't even move when there was a careful knock at the door. Gaara nudged at her back and only then did she glance up with a soft frown. She puckered her lips and slowly got up, as if she just now realized she was reclining on him like he was a chair.

Xin walked to the front of his desk, leaning against it while the binder took up her attention. Knowing that's as far as she was going, he called for the shinobi on the other side to come in. Kyohei. Well, of course. The Shinobi glanced at Xin but she hadn't bothered to look up, head still buried in that binder. "Good afternoon, my Lady," He greeted stoically. She glanced at him over the edge of the binder, forcing a smile across her face.

"Afternoon."

She went back to her binder, dismissing Kyohei entirely. Gaara resisted the urge to sigh heavily. She could have at least made an attempt to be more cordial. He figured she was still sore about her new hairstyle. Honestly, it didn't look that bad to him. Maybe she'd be less irritable without a foot long ponytail hanging down her damn back, sticking to her skin in perspiration.

"I'm...ready for my next mission, Kazekage-Sama," Kyohei stated after eyeing her warily. Gaara glanced at Xin's back again but she remained engrossed in that binder, mumbling to herself every now and then.

"Xin..." Gaara uttered in warning. She finally glanced back at him with a quirked eyebrow. She puckered her lips and rolled her eyes before settling the binder down, muttering that they should speak to the council soon. Without saying much else, she wandered out of the office, remembering her sandals for once. Kyohei's eyes followed her movements but Xin completely disregarded him as she swayed past him, still mumbling about the binder without so much as a glance towards Kyohei.

The eldest Mikawa son looked back towards Gaara. "Lovely wife you've got, Kazekage-Sama."

Lovely indeed.

* * *

Shit always seemed to happen to me when I was on duty at the Hospital. I barely ever have a relatively 'normal' day when I'm working. There's never really a dull moment when I'm here. Like today, for example. Admittedly, I hadn't been doing anything. For once I didn't have a million reports to fill out or appointments and Ukyo was training with her team. So, I was just sitting there, whirling around in my chair.

The door slammed open and a frantic nurse scrambled in, eyes wide. "My Lady!" She exclaimed shrilly. I stopped spinning at once, cringing at the sound of her voice. If she'd seen me spinning like a child in my chair, she didn't comment. "You're needed down in trauma right now!" the nurse didn't even give me a minute to gather myself before she yanked me to my feet to drag me out of the room. I scrambled to keep up with her, bare feet slapping against the floor loudly.

She shoved me through the swinging doors and I would've fell right on top of the victim. I straightened up, picked up my dignity and looked down only to nearly recoil away. The body laying across the table looked already dead. If it wasn't the wheezing coming from him, I would've just called it. But there was some wheezing that sounded like it took everything in him just to breath like that. I looked over him and frowned at seeing the red hair.

"_It's not Gaara, stupid girl." _

Not like I would care if it was him but the resemblance this guy had to my husband to be was unnerving. Well, under all that dried blood and dirt, his features were a lot softer than Gaara's features. He was pretty, like Sasuke. Shaking the thoughts from my head, I bent over him to bring him from the brink of death.

Three hours.

I was in there for three hours healing that man. Wound after wound, it was never ending. I had to wonder what type of freakin' mission Gaara had him on. I ran my hand through my hair and sighed heavily. "Move him into a private room and alert me if he wakes up," I ordered the nurses and left the room. Nearly running into Gaara and Lady Chiyo threw me off. I blinked at them, caught off guard. "Good afternoon, Lady Chiyo," I bowed to the older woman. I liked Chiyo, she had a twisted sense of humor that I found fuckin' hilarious. Somehow I seemed to be the only one to think so.

Her wrinkled face pulled into a slow smile. "Is he alive?" Gaara suddenly asked, ignoring the pointed look Chiyo shot at him. I glanced in between them. Neither of them had ever bothered visiting anyone I've healed since coming here. Maybe they knew this man personally?

"He is," I nodded slowly. "He hasn't woken up yet. He'll be fine although he was on the brink of death. What mission did you send him off on?"

Gaara glanced down at Chiyo, frowning softly. "I didn't send him on any mission. He's been missing for years."

I paused, blinking owlishly. "So...he's a missing-nin?"

Chiyo seemed to bristle at my question, I only quirked my eyebrow at her. "My grandson," She began to say, causing me to grimace. Well, shit, I just accused her grandson of being a traitor. "Went on a mission ten years ago and has been missing since. He was assumed dead."

Well. This is awkward.

"I see," I said slowly, kind of at a loss as to what to say. "I've stabilized him and he should be moved to a private room soon. I don't think he'll wake up anytime soon...but if you'd like, you are welcome to see him," I swept my hand towards the door. Chiyo nodded carefully and slipped into the room without so much as a thank you for recovering her nearly dead grandson.

"So, what, he's been missing since he was like ten?"

Gaara frowned down at me, head tilted to the side. "He went missing when he was fifteen," He stated, watching as my face twisted up. I whipped around to stare into the room with a surprised look. That man was five years off from being thirty? He was older than Gaara and I? Jesus Christ, I thought we were about the same age.

He didn't say anything, only handing me two manila folders. "When he awakens, test him to see if he has amnesia," Gaara ordered, going into his Kage mode and forgetting that I wasn't his medical ninja to order around.

"I know the procedure for dealing with recovered ninjas," I huffed, empty hand on my hip. Gaara shot me a confused look, unaware of why I suddenly had an attitude with him. Puffing out my cheeks, I looked away and shrugged. "What's this other folder?" I held up the second folder.

Gaara looked a little uneasy. "Your teammates...who were their parents?"

Uh, what? My teammates' parents? What in the blue hell did that have to do with anything? I cocked my head back and twisted my lips up into a confused frown. "Their parents died when the Kyuubi went ape-shit on Konoha," I explained shortly.

I guess you could say that's one of the biggest reasons why Haruka and I initially didn't get along. She indirectly hated Naruto for what the Kyuubi did to Konoha when it was sealed inside of him. And before we graduated from the Academy, Naruto had been troublemaking friends. I wasn't aware of Naruto having the demon in him until I was almost fifteen years old. But Haruka knew. And so did Seiko. They both lost their parents that night and I supposed the Orphanage that they grew up in told them what happened to their parents.

Haruka hated the very sight of Naruto. She was a lot like the other close minded villagers that treated him like shit. They didn't see the boy, they just saw the vessel for the monstrous fox that might have ruined their shit. Seiko, on the other hand, bless her heart, was a lot more friendlier to Naruto. I'm not sure if she ever held him responsible like other people did but she never had anything negative to say about the blond knucklehead.

Gaara nodded slowly after my explanation. "Your teammate, the blonde one," He began to say. "She...resembles Asuna," He stated simply. I only stared back up at him, frowning. Yeah, Haruka looked a lot like Asuna but I still didn't understand what that had to do with anything. But apparently that's all I was getting out of him. Chiyo came out of the room, looking so relieved and I knew the strange conversation between Gaara and I was over. I turned around to face her as she approached me. She grabbed my hand and stared at me for a long time. For a minute, I thought she was going to pull one of her twisted pranks that only I seemed to find funny.

"You...you're a good girl, Xin," She said it so fondly. A wave of guilt washed over me because I wasn't a good girl. There was nothing good about me but the way this little old lady was smiling at me made me think that maybe I wasn't such a horrible girl. But I was. If I wasn't, I wouldn't be marrying Gaara in the first place.

I had to wait three hours for the missing ninja in action to finally awaken. During those three hours, I looked through the folder regarding all information about him. As for the other folder, I threw it into one my desk's drawers. I got a bad feeling about it and figured it could wait. Anyway, the missing ninja was Sasori. And go figure, he was a puppet master. I wasn't even surprised at this point. Clearly these people were obsessed with puppets. They were fuckin' weird, I swear to God.

He was twenty-five, went on an S-ranked mission when he was fifteen and was never heard from again. Doesn't sound suspicious at all. Well, it's none of my business, either way. My only business was to make sure he remembered himself.

"My Lady! Sasori has awaken," the nurse from earlier offered me a nice smile. Now that she wasn't frantic and dragging me around, she seemed pretty nice. And yes, she had caught me spinning in my chair. But she insisted she wouldn't tell a soul. Nodding, I got up and followed her to the room Sasori was currently residing in.

He was propped against mountains of pillows with a tight frown across his face when I came in. He glanced up at me and his frown deepened. "I told the last nurse that I didn't want any hospital food," he stated stiffly.

I only quirked an eyebrow at him before settling down in the chair at his bedside. Up close and personal, he was as pretty as I thought he was. "Well, don't start whining when you do get hungry, tough guy," I stated simply as I got comfortable.

He eyed me as I slipped my sandals off, folded my legs underneath me and opened the folder across my crossed legs. "Just a minute," He said slowly, still frowning. "You're not the medical ninja caring for me, are you?"

"Problem?"

"You're barely fifteen."

"That's rich coming from a twenty-five year old man with a baby face," I snorted sourly. "I'm not fifteen, I'm eighteen. And yes, I'm the medical ninja in charge of you," I brushed my short ponytail over my shoulder. "I'm going to ask you questions and you'll answer, alright?" I quickly got serious. He didn't say anything so I started asking my questions. His name, his birthday, when did he graduate from the Academy, his parents' names, how many B-Ranked missions he went on. I asked him about Chiyo, his childhood and even the circumstances of his parents' death.

All in all, he remembered everything. I glanced at the clock, noting that an hour had passed. "Well, good for you, Sasori. You're not an amnesiac. We'll probably keep you until tomorrow evening. Just to make sure you're in tip top condition."

He was staring at me with a strange look in those dark eyes. "You're not from Suna, are you?"

Okay, random?

"What gave it away?" I asked with a quirked eyebrow. He was still staring at me with that blank stare, frowning. I wasn't uncomfortable under his stare but I was a little unnerved with his expression. It was just so...blank. Sometimes I could have a blank expression like that but his expression hadn't changed from the moment I started asking him questions.

"You would have been eight or nine when I left and I think I would remember a dark haired child with lavender eyes. Plus you're as pale as snow and that's not normal in Suna. And you're not looking at me like the other nurses looked at me," He pointed out. Those nurses looked like lovesick wolves waiting to strike. Apparently Sasori rivaled Gaara in the looks department. Not surprising since they looked pretty similar. Well, to me they did.

"Well. I'm getting married and I think it would be in poor taste to ogle another man, don't you?"

Sasori's forehead puckered as he frowned. "Aren't you a bit young to be getting married? You're eighteen," He pointed out like I was unaware of my own age. I rolled my eyes as I reached for my sandals. I didn't bother putting them back on and I noticed he looked at my bare feet with a frown.

I stood to my meager height and looked down at him. "If I'm not too young to murder someone, I'm not too young to marry someone," I shrugged one shoulder and turned around.

"That's...a different comparison," I heard him utter but I didn't bother to turn back to him. "Whose the young man unfortunate enough to fall for a woman like you?" He asked with no emotion in his tone. I don't know if he was trying to joke around or not but I thought about throwing my damn shoe at his head for his words.

I grabbed the door handle and glanced over my shoulder. "The Kazekage," I stated simply before leaving him be. What an ass.

* * *

I stayed at the Hospital pretty late. Late as in I'm sure everyone had already gone home. I was just filling some last minute things out before I would take off when I felt something...strange.

An unfamiliar chakra wavered from somewhere outside my office. I paused, pen still pressed against the document and slowly looked up. That chakra didn't feel right. I could just feel the murderous intent mixed in with the chakra. Placing the pen down, I slowly stood to my feet. I looked down and made sure that I had my sandals back on before advancing towards the door. I opened it carefully, waiting for someone to spring out of the shadows ready to execute me. Nothing happened but I felt the animosity growing.

I stepped out into the hallway and stopped once I looked down the hall. A hulking figure dressed in black stood at the end of the hallway, dark eyes focused on me. I stared back at the figure, recognizing the form from the first night Kyohei attacked. He'd been with a larger comrade. The larger one had gone after Gaara after Kyohei attacked me.

And now here he stood.

"This is a hospital," I said slowly and loud enough for him to hear. "I get that you have your own agenda but there's sick and injured shinobi here along with normal citizens and children," I warned him, hoping he'd just go away. It wasn't that I was afraid to fight him. But even I had enough sense to know not to fight at a freakin' hospital.

But my warning fell on deaf ears when the behemoth thundered towards me. Scowling, I readied myself. Sasori had been the only one I cared for today so that left me with more than enough chakra to get rid of this hulking idiot. He tried to run me over like he was a goddamn rhino or something. I pumped my arm and hand with chakra and grabbed the front of his clothes. Using his own velocity against him coupled with my chakra, I easily lifted him over my head to slam him face first into the ground.

I jumped, curled into a ball and pointed my legs straight down, landing on his back. I heard something beginning to splinter but it didn't crack. He recovered quick enough, roughly throwing me off of his back. I landed on my feet and ran at him as soon as be began to stagger around to me. I used his superior height to my advantage, climbing the front of his torso like it was a set of stairs.

I climbed his body until I was standing on his face. He reached up to throw me off but I was already stomping down on his face until he fell to his back. I delivered one last stomp that I'm sure broke his nose if it wasn't already broken before back flipping away. But still, he did not stay down.

The voice in my head sprang to life, chanting and demanding that I kill this motherfucker. _"Make him an example!" _it screamed from every part of my mind. Every crevice of my mind shook with its' screaming. _"Kill him and make him an example! Rip him open and strangle him with his own entrails! Bathe in his blood and show these people why you aren't one to be fucked with!" _

Deciding to end it quickly, I rushed at him and kicked him straight in the side of his head. Granted I had to jump up to reach his head but I landed my blow and he fell to the ground once more. This time, I didn't give him a chance to get back up. As soon as he sat up, I raced towards him and grabbed the sides of his head. I could hear the protest bubbling out of his mouth but I gripped his head hard enough and jerked, snapping his neck with ease. The giant's body sagged and dropped to the ground when I pulled my hands away.

I stared at the corpse for a long time, fingers twitching. It had been the first time in a long time since I actually killed someone. A slow smile crept along my face and I leaned my hand back, laughing along with the voice in my head.

I felt alive.

* * *

Asuna yawned obnoxiously as she made her way to the front door. Her siblings were still clambering around in the kitchen, trying to prepare breakfast. Kyohei had asked her to get the morning paper for him and she only agreed because today was his last day to spend with them before he had another mission. She figure she'd be the nice sister she was and do it.

Fondly rubbing one hand over her stomach, she used the other to swing open their door. The sun was high in the sky and bathed her in its' shine, causing her to smile. Sometimes she really missed Suna. It made her want to move back quicker than originally planned.

It was so different from when she was young. The people seemed happier, more at ease. They were more trusting of their Kage despite the dark past her harbored. The majority of the people had forgiven him and welcomed him to lead them. And things seemed even more better with the arrival of his quirky but friendly fiancee. Sure, Hatsune seemed to hate her but that's only because of her own unrequited crush of the Kage.

Her smile brightened as she stepped out into the sun only to squeak when she suddenly slipped on something. Catching the door frame, she looked down in confusion only to blanch in horror. She fell backwards with a shrill scream, lifting up her feet and sliding backwards into her home. She continued to scream, even when she heard her siblings rushing from the kitchen to see what in the world she was shrieking about at ten in the morning.

Jura reached her first and frantically checked her over for injuries but couldn't find anything. "Oh my God," Hatsune gasped first as she stared past her siblings. They followed her stare only to cringe away. Strewn across their doorstep like a dead animal was Kyohei's large childhood friend, Shintaro. His neck was twisted at an odd angle and his stomach had been sliced open, allowing his innards to spill across their doorstep. His dark eyes, his usual gentle dark eyes stared up at them much like a dead fish.

Some houses away, Xin stood in the bathroom of the Sand siblings' home. Her head was bowed as the shower pelted her with steaming water. She held her hands up and watched as the blood washed away, swirling down the drain.

The voice in her head cackled.

* * *

Well. Shit is getting real. I'm trying to get back on track with updating quickly enough. Remember, this is an AU so we're not following anything that's canon, which is why Sasori is suddenly here! What did you guys think about that? Hope you guys enjoy! Let me know what you think. I figured it's time for Xin to finally win a damn fight and show you guys how crazy she could be. It was short but there's more to come!


	12. Don't confess none of your sins

Shintaro's death was ruled as an unknown homicide.

I think Jura mentioned a theory about an enemy of Kyohei and Shintaro's carrying out the deed, which is why they dropped Shintaro's mangled corpse off at Kyohei's doorstep. I simply gobbled up the information, kindly offering my condolences. Like I really gave a shit.

They talked and talked about how Shintaro had been nothing but a gentle giant at heart. Gentle giant my ass. He wasn't being gentle when he tried to run me over and suffocate me with his big ass body. He should not t have been a shinobi, Asuna told me. He was a sweet boy.

Sweet boys don't try to rise against the Kazekage in some sort of weird coup d'etat. But hey, what do I know? What I do know, however, is that my actions probably sparked something severe. I mean, sure, an uprising was probably bad. But I think an all out war was slowly creeping up our backs from what I did. Laying Shintaro across Kyohei's doorstep like a piece of meat was basically a sign saying 'fuck with me if you want to'.

And fuck with me, he shall.

But I wasn't bothered, in fact, I was ready.

Anyway, I was propped at my desk two days after Shintaro's funeral when I suddenly remembered that other folder Gaara had given me. I'd completely forgotten about it, what with all the bullshit that happened that day. I rifled through my drawer and easily came across the folder. Frowning softly, I dropped it on my desk and stared down at it. Whatever was in here had something to do with Haruka. Which, now that I thought about it, was weird as shit.

Carefully I flipped it open for it reveal background information on two different people. I frowned in confusion. Who in the blue Hell were these people and what did they have to do with any of this? I huffed and read over the information. Inoue Sata and Tsukiko were shinobi who eventually moved to Konoha after they married. I puckered my lips. That sounded familiar, somehow. Inoue...Inoue...my fingers drummed against the desktop as I tried to recall where I heard the name before.

Inoue Haruka.

My fingers stilled against the desktop. Could it actually be that Haruka's parents were originally from Suna? My former pain in the ass teammate had never mentioned anything about Suna before. I studied their photos. Sata had the same bone structure and Tsukiko was pretty much an older clone of Haruka. Long blonde hair, bright blue eyes, everything.

I suddenly stopped as I read over Tsukiko's information. Next to her married name was her maiden name. I read it over several times but my eyes were not deceiving me. I even rubbed the heel of my palm into my eye harshly just to make sure. But there was no mistaking it.

Mikawa.

Immediately I got up to hunt one of the Mikawa siblings down. I had questions and they needed to be answered. Like who in the blue fuck were these people and why did there seem to be so many of them? What, were they like some kind of clan or something? Did they know of Haruka? Holy shit, did they know the circumstances of her death? Not only was I responsible for their family member's death, I was also responsible for Shintaro's death. I put Hatsune in the hospital, beat the living shit out of her and Jura, put Hideki into a mini coma, fought with Kyohei more than once and threw some major shade at Asuna that one time about Kages.

Jesus Christ, what was with me and this family?

My door opened just as I slipping my feet into my sandals. Sasori wandered in much like he owned the place and it caused me to raise an eyebrow at him. His face was mostly blank but I could see a flicker of irritation in his eyes. "Sasori," I greeted blandly. "Are you injured?"

"Do I look injured?"

"You look perfectly fine so get the hell out."

The irritation in his eyes grew but a lazy smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. He settled down in the chair across from my desk. "My grandmother said I had to come here for a routine checkup," He shifted around impatiently.

I balanced my cheek in the palm of my hand. "Why do you keep shifting around like that? What, you hopped up on soldier pills or something? I know they replenish your chakra and nourish your body and all but you know that shit screws you over once it runs out. It's worse than mixing an energy drink with coffee. Besides, you weren't even that bad."

"I could have died."

"But did you?"

"I hardly think that's point."

"_But did you die?" _

Sasori only glared at me. "Can we just get this over with? I hate waiting," He informed me while shifting around erratically. Ah, so he was the impatient type. I only eyed him, eyebrow quirked again at his urging.

"You could have just seen one of the nurses. They're perfectly capable of overseeing routine checkups. Besides, I'm sure there's plenty of them out there doing nothing with themselves. You know, unlike some busy people."

"Right and what exactly are you busy with? You look pretty comfortable lounging around your office without your sandals on."

I shot him a dark look, scowling at him. "That's confidential, you know, just like the details of your ten year disappearance," I pointed out airily. His shoulders tensed considerably but I only tapped my pen against the desk. I don't even think he told Gaara or Chiyo yet.

"What, are you a therapist now or something?"

Shrugging one shoulder, I pushed back from the desk slightly. "Only to people I like. I don't like you much, Sasori," I said, finally getting up. I rounded my desk, bared feet slapping against the floor. My hands found his shoulders and I quickly began to search for anything that could be wrong with his still recovering body. He seemed uncomfortable with my prodding but I didn't care. It wasn't my job to make sure he was comfortable. It was my job he was physically fit to get back out on the field. I asked him some questions, like how he was sleeping at night, did he have an appetite, was he having bouts of paranoia, anything that could throw him off.

He insisted that he was fine and perfectly well enough to go out on missions. I only eyed him warily. "Nah, I don't agree," I said after a long pause. Seeing as how I was his primary caregiver, if I told Gaara he wasn't ready for missions, he wasn't getting any missions until I gave the okay. One of the perks, I'd like to think. Sasori shot me a dirty look. "Listen here, puppet-boy, I get that you're this great Shinobi and everything, kudos to you, really," I rolled my eyes. "But one simply does not recover that quickly from missing for ten years. And from what I saw the other day, it was ten years of pure Hell. So you're gonna sit your ass out of the game for awhile and work on recovering, you hear me?"

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were more than just concerned for me. Does Kazekage-Sama know of these strong feelings?"

"I can see to it that you never receive a mission again in your life."

His dirty look was back. Kind of reminded me of Sasuke and Naruto back home. Those two, I swear, they went out of their way to be the most destructive when they went on missions together. They would whine and follow Sakura or I around the hospital, begging us to give our okay so they could go right back out on dangerous missions. Sometimes I wondered how Sakura's hair hadn't completely gone gray yet.

"You're not as sweet as everyone says," Sasori stated dryly. I only smirked and leaned back against my desk, arms folded across my chest. "You even have Chiyo fooled into thinking you're this heaven-sent gift. But you're really an evil midget."

I twisted my lips up at the insult. "Well, I'm a pretty evil midget, so that's all that matters," I shrugged my shoulders. "And whatever ideas people come up with about me is none of my business. I simply let them think what they think," I pointed out with a blank expression.

"You're a weird kid."

"Excuse me, I'm grown. Now I've got things to do. Get out."

* * *

She was sparring.

He'd only come searching for her because she hadn't shown up to lunch. Not that he cared for her presence but he'd been getting hungry and she insisted that she would bring their lunch. So when she didn't show up, he'd gone to the Hospital. The girl at the front desk said she left an hour earlier to go sparring with Jura. She spent a lot of time with Jura, he found himself thinking as he made his way over to her fluctuating chakra. He came across the two quite easily at the training grounds.

It seemed she favored kicking. She used her legs a lot, either by kicking Jura or by using her legs or thighs to lock around him to either choke him or throw him away from her. Jura probably noticed too, he was trying his best to put some distance within them. Xin was talented but she was a short-ranged fighter. And according to her, she wasn't that great at Genjutsu.

Jura attacked her with the puppet and Gaara watched as a kunai sank deeply into her shoulder. Blood trickled from the wound and stained the gray shirt she was wearing. She didn't stop to tend to it, darting across the distance towards Jura. He tried to throw a sudden punch but she easily caught his fist. She yanked him forward and swung herself down, catching him by the chin with her foot.

She twisted and instead of flipping backwards, she twisted to the side. With the new direction, she kicked Jura with her other foot. Jura hit the ground pretty hard as Xin twisted back onto her feet. "Goddammit, Xin!" Jura sat up, wiping sand and dirt from his face. Xin was bent over with her hands on her knees, laughing loudly. A bruise was already beginning to form on the side of Jura's face, courtesy of Xin's relentless kicks.

"Oh, holy shit! You should've seen how hard your face hit the ground! Is your nose broken? Something had to of cracked. I kicked the living shit out of you," She was standing up a little straighter but her arms were wrapped around her middle as she continued to laugh. The Shukaku decided to spring to life, practically whining about how close Xin seemed to Jura. It's not a big deal, he argued with the Tanuki demon. Xin was allowed to have friends. She was allowed to kick the living shit out of them and then laugh about it immediately.

_Why doesn't she have any female friends? _

Gaara tried to search his mind, she did have female friends. Didn't she? Did Temari count? He supposed she did but she was his sister and well...she counted. Who else did she spend a lot of time with? Ukyo? But she was younger than Xin and was training under her.

Hatsune?

Ha. As if.

Asuna?

Could be.

Matsuri?

Probably not.

"_She's taking her shirt off." _

Gaara snapped to attention once the Shukaku started to cheer Xin's actions on. Her laughter had ceased and it seemed she removed the kunai from her shoulder. She slipped the ruined shirt off easily and eyed it with a pucker before sliding her sandal off and kicking it at Jura's head. "I liked this shirt!" She exclaimed in annoyance. Jura, though he was rubbing his head with a pout, was watching Xin with a weird look in his eyes. Gaara only frowned. It almost looked like he wanted to eat her.

"_He wants to fuck her," _the Shukaku paused in his cheering long enough to inform his Host. Gaara said nothing, simply watching as Jura finally got up to give Xin her sandal back. She took it back after healing the gushing hole in shoulder. The blood had leaked down, staining the material of her netted undershirt and her side. The blood nearly reached the hemline of her pants but stopped inches after her bellybutton.

"Think anyone will think it's weird if I walk back to the Hospital without a shirt on?"

"Nah, looks like your normal kunoichi garb."

"Eh? It does not."

"No, it does. You wore like a purple...cloth thing."

"It was a cropped shirt."

"It covered just as much as your bra covers."

"Checking me out? You'd better watch yourself, Mikawa. My hubby is scary when he's mad."

The two turned around and suddenly paused at the sight of him. Xin's lips puckered while the color from Jura's face drained completely. "Hey, honey!" Xin greeted, approaching him with a grin. She suddenly paused in front of him, looking thoughtful. "I was going to hug you and all but I'm sweaty and bloody." She pointed out. "But what brings you here?"

His mind drew a blank thanks to all of Shukaku's shouting. Apparently the perverted and sadistic demon liked the thought of Xin covered in sweat and blood. He pushed the dirty thoughts away. "It's lunch time," Gaara reminded her blankly.

She blinked several times in the span of a minute and then her stomach suddenly rumbled. "Damn it, Jura!" She turned to the brunet and brutally punched him. Gaara blinked, slightly put off by her vicious assault. Shukaku was cackling in delight.

"What the hell, Xin!? Our spar is over!"

She didn't say anything, only glared at him. "We'll see you later, Jura!" She shot him a shit-eating grin before hurrying off. Gaara only glanced at Jura. The Shinobi stood rubbing his bruised face. He was mumbling that Xin could have at least healed him. But...Gaara was satisfied. "I can take an extended lunch break," Xin was saying as he easily caught up with her. "I mean, well, if you want me to. If it's too late, it's fine," She was babbling now. "There was this restaurant I came across but since it's late maybe we could just go back to the house. Always eating out is not healthy for us and it's not like we go out on missions a lot."

Her scent was choking him again. This time it was mixed with the scent of her blood and sweat and for some reason, it was pleasing. He blamed that on the Shukaku's weird kinks. "Besides, I'm covered in blood and sweat so I think I should get a quick shower in, right?"

Gaara silenced the Shukaku just as he was making a lewd comment. She was eyeing him, wondering why he hadn't said anything. When he realized she was waiting for him to say something, he gathered his sense. "Eating at home is fine," Gaara made the choice. Xin nodded just as they rounded the path leading to the house. If she took notice of his tensed form, she didn't comment on it. Which, honestly, surprised him. Xin just wasn't one to keep her sarcastic and blunt comments to herself. She slipped her sandals off and glanced around, wondering if Kankuro or Temari were around but paused, as if she suddenly realized no one would be home in the middle of the day.

She stretched, much like a cat would. Bones popped and cracked and a satisfied smile graced her lips as her muscles pulled tightly. "Do I have time to take a shower? I smell like hard work," She grinned as she slowly relaxed her body. The Shukaku pulled his attention to her breasts once more. It could barely serve as a bra, the thin black material covering her chest. Oddly enough, it had one strap that pulled the bra up just a bit, exposing the underside curves of her breasts underneath the netting.

The type of shit kunoichi wear.

Gaara only nodded before moving past her to sit in the kitchen. She was probably wondering about his odd behavior but for some strange reason, chose not to comment. That was twice in one day she chose to keep her snarky comments to herself. She deserved a cookie. He figured he'd leave her to her shower. That way, she was bound to put some clothes on and that would shut the Shukaku up. Maybe. For a demon that basked in the sweet scent of death and despair to all those around him, he sure did have a strange fascination with Xin.

"_She smells like death and despair," _Shukaku rumbled from somewhere. The moment Xin had stepped out of view, the demon has ceased his vulgar shouting. It was like she was some sort of trigger for the Sand beast. When she wasn't around, the demon barely stirred. _"She reminds me of a simpler time. When you were fun. Remember those days?" _

No.

He didn't remember. He didn't want to remember. Those days were long behind him. Days he didn't plan on revisiting any time soon. Or ever. Actually, he'd never revisit those days. Despite Xin's goading words, despite her accusations of being just alike, he would not falter to her words. They were twisted and corrupted, she claimed that one night in the kitchen so many days ago. Twisted and corrupted people don't have the time to fall in love, that only exists in poetry and epic tales, she told him in Konoha. We are not an epic tale.

He knew what point she was trying to get across. People like them, people who enjoyed taking the lives of others, they didn't deserve happiness. And no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't change who he was.

A murderer hoarding a blood thirsty demon.

"I'm back!" Xin sung out, swinging into the kitchen and disrupting his thoughts. The blood and sweat had been washed away but her body was still slick from her quick shower. Her hair was twisted up in a sloppy bun, like she had done it last minute. She was dressed in a pair of black pants that bunched up around the middle of her calves paired with a black shirt that was mostly mesh material.

Gaara blew out through his nose as the Shukaku turned its' attention back towards her body. She breezed by him and the Shukaku cheered for him to grab her. Grab her? He frowned in confusion. Grab her and do what?

"_Grab her and fuck her on the table." _

Gaara liked it better when the Sand demon urged him to go on bloody massacres. He could feel the beast clawing at the surface, fighting for control. He hadn't fought this hard for control since Gaara started to turn his back on his bloodied past. Xin brought out the worst in him. She clambered around the kitchen, none the wiser. The little woman was busily gathering ingredients and only paused, struggling to reach something off of the shelves. Even standing on the tips of her toes, she couldn't reach whatever she was trying to get.

It was ironic how someone so tiny and petite could actually be as dangerous as she.

He got up slowly and approached her as she grumbled and cursed about her inferior height. He stopped directly behind her, a mere centimeter separating them. He planted one hand down on the counter firmly and reached over her head with the other. Xin's struggling ceased as Gaara's fingers easily curled around the seasoning she had been reaching for. She twisted around to face him, big eyes roving over his face. Pinks lips pulled in thought and she pressed herself tightly against the counter, maybe trying to put some space between them.

His hand came down, settling the seasoning down and then pressing his hand to the counter, trapping her in his arms. From a dark part of his mind, the Shukaku was urging him on._ "Just a taste, a taste! She probably tastes like how she smells!" _

Like flowers and spice?

"_No! Like blood and despair! Like fresh blood being spilled across the battlefield! Like a dying man taking his last agonizing breath, like bones being crushed! Like the tears of a child who just witnessed the murder of their parents!" _

For the first time in a long time, he gave into the urging. With her trapped under his arms, caged in like the rapid animal she was, he kissed her. Her felt her body stiffen under him, probably completely thrown off by his actions. Gaara thought back to the night of their engagement party when she had climbed on top of him to kiss him. She had said she wanted to try something and to this day, he still hadn't been sure about what she was trying. But he'd liked it. He would never tell her that but he actually liked whatever they had shared that night.

And he liked whatever the fuck they were sharing at the moment.

She didn't try to smack the living shit out of him and he figured that was a good thing. She seemed real freakish about her personal space lately. She should have shoved him away with a nasty glare. She should have screeched at him like the fucking harpy she is. This was not a part of their twisted relationship. They hated each other. They despised one another. They didn't get along. They were enemies. And last time he checked, enemies didn't kiss one another. They didn't spend time together and have lunch everyday.

They glared at one another with sarcastic and biting remarks. They hissed and cursed. They even went as far as trying to attack one another. Because they didn't like each other. They hated each other and they were stuck together because of the mistakes of their past. That's all. That's it.

So what the fuck were they doing kissing in the middle of the day in the kitchen?

Her fingers twitched and instead of wrapping her hands around his neck to strangle him like she should have done, she settled her hands on the span of his shoulders, raising on the tips of her toes once more to make up for the vast height difference. She was a fucking witch. She had to be. She had bewitched him with her witch powers and that was the only explanation as to why he suddenly felt the need to kiss her. His fingers brushed her lower back, feeling the slick skin between the gap of her shirt and the hem of her pants.

Her teeth bit down on his lower lip and suddenly sucked it into her mouth. The Shukaku purred in pleasure and Gaara faintly mused about the noise, who knew a rage monster was capable of making a noise similar to a house cat? She had reduced his bloodthirsty demon to that of a purring pussy cat with a suck of her lips.

She was a witch. A gypsy. A succubus.

His fingers dug almost painfully into her soft flesh but she seemed to enjoy the feeling, humming against his lips to show her preference to the bruising grip. But she suddenly pulled away, gasping like he'd punched her in the stomach. Almost like a second thought hit her, she brushed her lips against his, curling her tongue against his lips before falling back down to her normal height.

Was that legal? Was any of this legal? This should be illegal. He was the fucking Kazekage, he could make all of this illegal. He could ban something like from ever happening in his freakin' village.

_Kiss her. AgainAgainAgain. _

He did. Kissed her until her eyes nearly rolled to the back of her head, pinned her to the counter, hard lines of his body dominating her softer curves. Thick fingers left bruises along her waistline while femininely long fingernails dug into his shoulders, flesh only protected by the black material of his shirt. Her height was a disadvantage, he dully noted. Hands gripping her waist, he lifted her like she was the equivalence of a feather and plopped her right down on the counter. She blinked owlishly at this, eyebrows knitted together.

What in the fuck were they doing? Before either of them could really think anything over, he was on her again, easily parting her legs and laying more bruising kisses to her puffy lips. The kisses turned into bites and the bites turned into hips grinding and suddenly the two were even more confused than three seconds ago.

"Hello?"

And just like that, they sprang apart. Well, Gaara quickly backed off, leaving Xin to sit on the counter with a clueless expression. He easily sank down at the kitchen table just as Xin gathered her wits and slid off the counter. She took a deep breath and turned back to her gathered ingredients. "Kitchen!" She called out in a squeaky voice.

Temari and Kankuro made their way into the kitchen. Kankuro immediately went to Xin's side to peek over her shoulder to see what she was making. They had a strange relationship. Some days they got along like old friends. Other days they bickered worse than she and Gaara. Temari stayed at the doorway, blonde brows knitted together together in question. Her eyes slid from Xin's tense back to Gaara's relaxed form. She pursed her lips and slowly approached her youngest brother. She sat down at the table with him, frowning. "What are you two doing here in the middle of the day?"

Kankuro hummed as Xin started to mix the ingredients. "Shouldn't you be somewhere plotting someone's death?" He grinned down at her and elbowed her side. He heard her snort and quietly told his older brother to fuck off.

Temari smiled at their sibling like behavior. "Xin and Jura got caught up in their sparring and missed lunch so we came back home to have something to eat," Gaara explained shortly as Xin dumped everything in a pot. It looked like homemade stew. At his explanation, Temari glanced in between them.

"You have lunch together frequently?"

"Why else does he not pass out from starvation?"

"Why, Xin, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were actually concerned for my brother's health."

"Good thing you know better, huh?"

Did she know any better, though?

* * *

I avoided Gaara again. I had to, I couldn't help it. Things were weird. Things were not right. We were not right and until things went back to normal, I was going to avoid his ass like the plague. Was I being childish? Maybe. Could we solve this problem by confronting each other? Absolutely. Was I going to confront him? Fuck no.

Either way, I had more important things to handle. Like figuring out this whole thing with Haruka's apparent relation to the Mikawa siblings. I didn't mention it to Jura because I figured with him so close to me in age, he probably wouldn't remember Haruka. I wasn't going anywhere near Kyohei because all I wanted to do was smash his face into a wall so that left me with Asuna. Asuna was neutral territory. She wasn't close to me like Jura was but she didn't despise my face like Hatsune and didn't want to murder me like Kyohei.

Asuna was safe.

With her deciding to move back to Suna, she was required to have a check up. Just to make sure she wasn't bringing any diseases or viruses in from Kiri and I figured that was the perfect time to ask her about this whole weird ass situation.

"I have a question for you, Mikawa-San," I prompted calmly as I readied to draw blood from her. She was squeamish about the needle and I had to snort. What's with her and Hideki about needles? They were ninja, for fuck's sake, needles shouldn't make them green in the face. She pursed her lips and simply nodded, looking anywhere but at the needle as I slid it into a vein. "I had this teammate back in Konoha when I was a Genin," I began casually. "She looked a lot like you," I continued on with a hum. I took notice of her shoulders tensing. "Inoue Haruka was her name. Do you know of her?"

Asuna was staring at me with a soft frown. "She's dead," She stated simply. I snorted, like I didn't know that already. Not the information I need, Asuna. Not the information at all. Instead of telling her that I knew she was dead, I nodded.

"So you know her?"

Asuna's eyes darted to the door for a quick second. I raised a brow at her. She looked like a caged animal. She looked like she knew something she wasn't supposed to know or didn't want me to know. I continued to stare at her. She nodded slowly. "I met her once. She was my Aunt's daughter. My parents wanted to bring her to Suna once we found out her parents were dead. She was about eleven by then," She started to explain softly. Wait a minute, it took them eleven years to figure out Haruka's parents were dead? What type of clueless shit was that?

"She refused to leave though. Said she wouldn't leave the village her parents were buried in. I don't know why my parents didn't just assert their authority as adults and bring her back. She would probably still be alive if she had come with them. How did she die? We were never told the details."

Well, fuck.

"We were on a mission, my team and I. Some information had been withheld from us and because of that, my team suffered the consequences," I stated tightly. That's all she was getting out of me about the circumstances of their deaths. And I'm sure she quickly figured that out.

Asuna solemnly nodded. With her free hand, she reached out and settled her hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry you had to go through that," She uttered softly, tender eyes raking over my face. I almost laughed. If only she knew. If only she knew I'd be the one responsible for any of their deaths.

"She was a real diva, you know?" I suddenly said. "She was a lot like Hatsune, I think. Just more...bold, I'd say. And she would talk for days. Sometimes I would just poke her in the neck really hard and she would just shut up. She was weird. But I was weird and so was Seiko and Lena and we just got along and—" I came to screeching halt when I felt my eyes burning. What in the fuck was happening to me? My throat tightened up and my heart twisted and pulled. What was left of my dignity shattered when I felt something wet slide down my face.

Holy shit, was I crying?

What the shit? What in the shit is that? Tears? Freakin' tears? I was crying? Jesus Christ on a stick, when was the last time I even felt sad, let alone cried? This was not normal. And what's worse, I was crying in front of one of the Mikawa siblings. Seriously, what the hell is with this family?

Asuna leaned forward, slightly restricted by the needle in her arm and wrapped her free arm around my shoulder. She leaned over and I felt her blonde hair tickling my cheek much like Haruka when she would lean too close to me as bickering pre-teens. The tears came even harder. This wasn't supposed to happen. I was just supposed to causally find out if Haruka was related to this weird ass family. That's all so why in God's name was I sobbing into Asuna's chest? I hadn't cried when I dispatched them. I hadn't cried at their funerals. I hadn't cried since who knows when.

Get your shit together, I sneered at myself. Or maybe it was the voice. I'm not sure, it had been oddly quiet for the past couple of days. Maybe it actually vanished into the darkest part of my mind. I half expected it to spring to life at that moment to point out that no, it hadn't vanished but it remained quiet. I sniffled and cringed in disgust. I shifted and Asuna fell away, allowing me to sit up. I gathered my shattered dignity, wiping my face with the sleeve of my white coat. "Uh," I fumbled over my words. "I'm sorry, I don't what just came over me," I apologized quietly while taking a deep breath.

She smiled sweetly at me. "It's fine, my Lady," She hummed nicely. "You must have been really close to your team, to Haruka. I'm glad she found someone who got along with her, she must have been lonely without her parents. They were lovely people, a little eccentric though. Although I think our entire family is rather eccentric."

Crazy motherfuckers, all of you.

I returned her smile and then realized the needle was still lodged into her vein. She nearly passed out once I slid the needle out but held on strong. "Everything happens for a reason," She said just as she readied herself to leave. I only waved goodbye. Her words were supposed to soothe me but for some strange reason, it sounded almost sinister. Or maybe I was just reading too much into it. The whole family unnerved me.

Everything lately has been unnerving me.

Nothing new.

* * *

The door slammed open and in came Sasori for the second time that week. Ukyo jumped at his rude entrance and nearly dropped the concoction I assigned her to experiment on. I only stared at him, eyebrow quirked. Sasori didn't say anything, dropping down in the chair across from me. "Ukyo, could you check my appointments for today?" I asked rather calmly. Ukyo fumbled around for my appointments for the day. She seemed a little flustered and I wondered if she found Sasori attractive like she found Gaara attractive. Personally, I felt like his features were too soft.

"Uh," She glanced over the clipboard of appointments. "The only thing you have scheduled was the appointment an hour ago," She uttered. Sasori finally turned to look at her, like he finally noticed her. She jerked under his intense gaze.

"Stop intimidating my student," I rolled my eyes. "And I don't see you for another week so unless you're suddenly bleeding internally or something, get out," I uttered in a bland voice. Ukyo glanced at me, eyes wide.

"This is the only place those rabid females don't follow me into," Sasori grumbled almost angrily. I scoffed and tapped my pen against my desk.

"I'm not your keeper, Sasori. I don't care whose following you. You can't hang out in here," I got up from my chair and rounded the desk, standing by the door. "Are there any bruises or something I don't know about?"

Sasori only quirked his eyebrow and suddenly got up, closing in on me. He reached around me and pulled at the hem of my shirt. I let out a weird noise and tried to swat his hand away. "What's with the bruises, my Lady?" He sneered as he said that title and I felt like punching him in the neck.

Oh, Jesus Christ.

I'd forgotten about those finger printed bruises along my waistline. "Well, what do you think two adults in love do with their free time, Sasori?" I asked with a blank stare. Ukyo stuttered and coughed from behind us. "I like my men a little rough, is there a problem with that?" I huffed and tapped my foot against the floor. I was going to smack the shit out of Gaara.

Sasori only hummed and went back to the chair, settling down in a casual manner. I took a deep breath and wondered if I could just toss him out. I approached him, skirting around him to lean against my desk. I folded my arms across my chest and simply stared down at him, waiting.

"Just tell your husband that I'm well enough to take missions," Sasori stated after a long pause. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I knew he wasn't just in here to hide from his crazy fan girls. "I wouldn't have the time to come in here if you would just give the okay."

"I'm not telling _your Kazekage_ anything," I huffed down at him. "Because you're only a week and a half into recovering," I reminded him with a slow eye-roll. "You should be spending your time recovering, not in here bothering me," I pointed out.

"Aren't you just a ray of sunshine?"

Before I could come up with a sarcastic reply, the door opened once more. This is exactly what I meant when I said these people did not understand the concept of knocking. This is exactly why Jura passed out when he barged in on me delivering a baby. And speak of the devil, Jura came flooding in. He came to a halt once he got a good look at the occupants of the room. His eyes roved over Sasori before slightly bugging out. He let out this weird ass squealing noise, something like an infant pig, and suddenly grabbed me.

We were out of the room in seconds. "What's the matter with you?" I asked with a blank expression as Jura hyperventilated, blowing his breath at my forehead. He continued on like that for several seconds before dropping his forehead against my shoulder. I allowed him to lean against my shoulder for three minutes before I pinched his side. He hissed at the treatment, jumping back while swatting my smaller hand away.

"What the hell?"

"You're going to ask me that when you just barged into my office, made a noise that only a twelve year old girl should make and then dragged me out of my office to hyperventilate? What the hell is wrong with you? Are you injured? Are you ill? Huh? Is there anything wrong with any of you, seriously! This is a hospital, not a hang out spot!"

Jura only stared at me as I ranted. Honestly, what's with these people? Why were all these weird ass people just flocking to me? I was just trying to live life as normally as a raging sadistic psychopath could. I didn't deserve any of this, damn it.

"How do you know Sasori-dono?"

I paused with a tight frown. "What?" I hissed out through gritted teeth. Jura shot me an irritated look and sighed heavily, like he was dealing with a spoiled child. I eyed him darkly and wondered if I should just punch him in the throat. I needed to hit something. With each passing second, he was turning out to be a fabulous punching bag if he didn't stop getting on my nerves.

"Sasori-dono, the redhead man who looks like a softer version of Lord Kazekage. The man sitting in your office like you're old friends. How do you know him?"

I felt the edges of a migraine coming on. "How else would I know him, Jura? I'm overseeing his recovery. We're not old friends, he's an impatient pain in the ass who just thinks he can waltz around and do as he pleases," I placed my hand on my hip and started to tap my foot against the tiled floor for the second time that day. Jura shoved his face close to mine, I could feel his breath fanning across my lips. For some reason, I didn't falter. Not like I did whenever Gaara got too close to my person. I didn't want to shove Jura away out of embarrassment. I wanted to shove him out of my face because he was irking my last nerve.

"Can you introduce me to him?"

"What? Why?"

Jura looked at me like I was out of my mind. "Why? Why else, Xin!? How is it that you never become star-struck, huh? What kind of girl are you?!" He demanded, throwing his hands up in exasperation. Star-struck? Star-struck by who? Sasori? Gaara? He let out a frustrated sigh. "Sasori-dono is the best puppeteer in Suna. No one has come close to this skill even though he's been missing for ten years," Jura stated slowly. I only stared back at him.

I kept staring at him. What was with these people and puppets? Hatsune, Hideki, Jura (apparently), Kankuro, Sasori. Fuckin' weirdos, all of them. The only normal one was Temari. I glanced back at my office and remembered leaving Ukyo in there with Sasori. "Oh fuck, he's probably in there mind raping her or something," I shoved past Jura and stomped back towards my office, throwing the door open.

"...And that, my dear child, is how I successfully carried out my first A-ranked mission..."

Ukyo's eyes were wide in what I assumed was terror. I slapped my forehead.

* * *

She was avoiding him, that much he was sure of.

He hadn't been so sure at first, figuring she was probably stuck with something important down at the Hospital. She sometimes whined that the other medics would dump the more stressful jobs on her in retaliation for having a relationship with him.

Gaara only figured Xin was avoiding him when she sent Ukyo three days in a row to deliver his lunch. The young kunoichi always had some violent message threatening him to eat. Ukyo assumed it was a loving letter she was not allowed to read but if only she knew. He read over the note dully as Ukyo scampered out of the office, face red for some odd reason.

_Eat this fuckin' shit and don't die of starvation or I'll smack the shit out of you.-Xin_

Gaara rolled his eyes at the letter. She was going to make a fabulous wife. His fabulous wife, he rolled his eyes again. He placed the letter in the drawer with her other letters. He didn't understand why he didn't just throw the letters out. They weren't love letters, that's what people kept. Instead of getting up and going down to the Hospital to confront her, he ate the lunch instead. She was avoiding him for a reason and she would most likely lock herself in her office claiming she was busy if he went down there.

Perhaps if she's still awake by the time he gets home, he could speak to her. What exactly would they speak about though? He kissed her. She kissed him back. That's all that happened. He still felt the same about her. He still thought she was a psychopath. Granted, he also thought she was a witch or at least a succubus but he still thought she was out of her mind.

Gaara pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind just as he finished the lunch she sent him. Deciding he would deal with Xin when he got home, he set out to finish the pile of work he'd been putting off thinking about Xin.

Hours and hours clocked by and by the time Gaara looked back up, the sun was long gone. The moon was high in the sky and stars winked down at the village. His eyes slid over to the clock and he sighed heavily. One in the morning. Xin was most likely home by now. For someone who accused him of being a workaholic, she always seemed to have long nights of slaving over medical reports. But Gaara figured she was only pouring herself into work like that because she still wasn't allowed to go on missions and because she couldn't snap anyone's neck.

The walk home is uneventful, like any other night. Strange, he mused, every time he was out with Xin, things happened. Whether it was the Mikawa siblings catching them off guard or rogue ninjas attacking them in the night, his walks with the little woman were always eventful.

Her chakra flickered lowly, she must have actually had a stressful day. She's in the living room, dressed in dark shorts that seemed more like second skin and a tank top that dipped far too low. She's strewn across the couch, legs thrown over the arm of the couch. Her arm was draped across her eyes while the other hand was deep in her hair, scratching at her scalp.

Her reaction to hearing him step into the living room was sluggish. She slowly pulled her arm from across her eyes to lazily regard him with a soft frown. She sighed heavily and looked away. "Nice to see you're still alive."

"You don't sound so excited."

She snorted and her arm is back over her eyes. "Don't got the energy," She breathed out past slow lips. He didn't bother to reply, stepping further into the living room. There's papers and folders across the coffee table that probably still need her approval or for her to look over. He sat down next to her head, sweeping some of her dark locks from the cushion.

For a long time, neither of them speak. They just sit in each others' company. The redhead glanced at the woman several times, waiting for her to say something. It's unlike her to remain quiet for so long and for a minute, he assumes she might have fallen asleep. But during his fifth glance, she purses her lips and lets out a long sigh. She's still awake and Gaara decides he might as well bring up his problem with her. "You've been avoiding me, Xin," He states simply. It's not a question. It's a statement. There's no denying it.

Xin suddenly rolled to lay on her side. She sits up on her elbow and leans the majority of her weight on it. Tired eyes rove over him, slightly squinted as if she's seeing him for the first time or something. "This again?" She asked after a long moment of just staring at him. She was talking about the first time she avoided having lunch with him for some time and he marched right down to the hospital to drag her out to lunch to demand answers.

The little woman makes a noise before sliding over and suddenly flopping down in his lap. She sighed, long and heavy and then curled her legs up. He neither encourages or discourages her sudden actions. "What's wrong with us, Gaara?" Xin finally asks after another long pause. "It's weird now, don't you think?"

Was it a good weird or bad weird? Did it even matter? Did any of this even matter?

"It was the Shukaku again, wasn't it?" She prompted and shifted, locks spilling messily across his lap. "He kissed me, didn't he?" She sounded exhausted and he wondered if she had any cups of coffee for today. She was usually so energetic.

"What makes you think it's the one that kissed you?"

At that, she sat up. "Well," Xin drawled out. "There was that night in Konoha, remember? You said some pretty mean shit to me, saying my insanity wasn't attractive to you. Our marriage is a form of business and you would never love me. You also said the Shukaku is attracted to my insanity and my face. Knowing all of that, why wouldn't I assume it was the Shukaku's influence the other night?"

Good points. All very good points.

A plume of irritation bloomed at the center of his chest as she explained her reasoning. He wasn't sure if her reasoning annoyed him or the fact that she was completely right to think that way. He could feel her eyes staring into the side of his head. "Does the Shukaku think about me a lot?" She asked, completely innocent. But he knew better. There was not a damn thing innocent about this woman. Everything she did, she did it for a reason. The results may surprise her and catch her off guard but she knew what she say doing.

"You're not all it thinks about but you are a favored topic. I told you, the insanity is a turn on," Gaara answered truthfully. A small smile crept across her face, she was probably proud of that, the little psycho. "It thinks mostly of the past. Of my own past and its' own past."

Xin nodded along to his words, like this was some sort of normal thing to talk about. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and the scent of flowers washed over him like a wave. It nudged at the Shukaku, rousing the sand beast from its' slumber. "_Pretty girly," _it purred, shaking the sleep off. Gaara only massaged his temples, readying himself to wrestle for the control the Shukaku suddenly so desperately wanted.

"That afternoon," She leaned a little too close to him. "What made him want to kiss me?"

Gaara wanted to kiss her as much the Shukaku. And that was the problem.

Fuckin' witch. Evil succubus. Sneaky gypsy.

"You smelled of blood and sweat," He replied honestly. It's not like she asked what made him want to kiss her. And it was a good thing too because she probably wouldn't accept his accusations of her being a witch. Even though she's _so_ obviously one. "You smelled like that and you were wearing tight clothes and he just wanted to taste you."

"What do I taste like?"

What did girls want to taste like? Like sweet candy, like lovely flowers. Like honeysuckle. Like fresh spring days. Those are what girls are supposed to taste like. Smell like. Those are what girls are supposed to embody. But this little girl sitting next to him was excluded from that. This girl tasted exactly what the Shukaku assumed she tasted like. Agony and despair. She tasted like a tragic day. She tasted like the morning after a lost battle. She tasted like blood and tears mixed together.

With the aftertaste of lavender.

Gaara had noticed the sweet aftertaste.

So did he tell her that she tasted of death and flowers? Like a funeral. No, not quite like a funeral. She tasted more like murder and flowers. Girls didn't want to hear that but she wasn't a regular girl. She was a monster hiding out in the skin of a pretty girl.

"Like exactly how it thought you would taste."

Another smile. A slow smile. It creeps across her face again. It would chill anyone's bones, the way it slowly works its way across her lips. But he's used it. He's used to her and doesn't react at all.

"I see," She muttered oh so quietly. One arm reaches up and across his face, settling against the side of his head. The tips of her fingernails scrape across his skin before delving into his hair. Her nails are dangerous. Pesky. Annoying. There's still small scratches along his shoulders from the kiss in the kitchen. The Shukaku likes them, likes the way they tingle every time he moves. He allowed her to scratch him.

"Would you like to know what you taste like?" Her lips skim across his jaw, resting just underneath his ear. Her mouth puckered against his flesh and he could feel the signs of a devious smile twitching. She doesn't give him the chance to answer. "You taste like...that bloody sand you carry around. Like blood that's been sitting under the dessert sun for too long. You taste like a ruined oasis after a long battle," her lips twist into that devious smile. "Like sharp screams piercing the night, a bloodstained moon."

"Like impending death," She says one last time before tilting her head back and sucking his earlobe between her teeth. He tried to pull away but her fingers are scratching and rubbing through his hair and it feels _too _good and her teeth are softly nibbling at his lobe and that feels even better and _oh__—_

Motherfucking witch.

Finding his sense, he stood up abruptly. She nearly tumbled over but caught herself. Glancing up through her bangs, he could see the mischievous evil running through her eyes. He recalls a long time ago, before their lives went to shit, his Uncle used to read the Sand Siblings bedtime stories. They were mostly ninja legends but sometimes he would read fairy tales. Temari liked them, she liked them a lot. There was one telling the story of mischievous beings of fay origin. Sometimes it was innocent but sometimes the fay would lead unsuspecting humans to their deaths.

Xin looked like the fay people.

And that's when he knew. She wasn't a witch, or a gypsy or a succubus. Although she did have their qualities, she was none of those things. She was like the fay from the Unseelie Court. The ones who enjoyed bringing harm to humans. Xin had enchanted him and she was going to lead him to an early grave.

She continued to smile.

* * *

Yeah, so after rereading the last chapter, I could totally see why you guys thought Shintaro was Asuna's husband, lol. I also noticed a lot of you guys were pretty happy with Xin murdering Shintaro, lol. Well, Xin finally showing off her crazy side. There wasn't much crazy going on but don't worry, that won't be the last of her murderous ways. There's more to come! Just wanted to establish some things in this chapter. What did you guys think of it? Hope you guys are still looking forward to everything and you review!

Oh! And if you guys could describe Xin and Gaara with a song, which song would you pick? Just curious. I should probably start listing the songs the chapters are named after or some shit. You guys seem to have awesome taste in music, do you know any of the songs from the chapters?


	13. I'm nuts, baby, I'm mad

I always get my way.

It may not be right away but I always end up getting my way.

For example, one sunny bright day, I found myself storming into a council meeting. I was on a mission and I was going to accomplish that one way or another. I grabbed the double doors and threw them open, not giving any fucks on what I was barging in on. "Good afternoon~!" I sung out. The displeasure was evident but that did not sway me, oh no sir. Today, I was the little ninja that could and nothing was going to stop me from getting what I wanted. In all honesty, my problem could easily be solved but these people seemed rather stubborn.

Well, they had no idea what they were about to deal with.

"Now, see, I'm not sure how things work here," I began say, casually sashaying into the room with a relaxed smile. "But you see, I have a problem and nothing was being done about it so I figured I would take it up with you all since you're all gathered here," I was beaming now as I leaned my hip against the edge of the rounded table.

Gaara was eyeing me with blank eyes. I think he was actually expecting something like this. Some of the members were shooting him looks but he remained casual in his seat, leaning forward to balance his chin in his palm. "What's your issue, my lady?" one of the older members asked rather calmly. She had the least amount of wrinkles but for some reason, I felt like this particular council member was like the leader of the pack or something. I believe her name to be Mai.

I clapped my hands together. "Well, I picked my life up and came here as you suggested to be your Kazekage's wife in exchange for...well...nothing," I shrugged at the end of my sentence.

"For peace, Xin, peace," Gaara uttered into his palm.

"Right, right, peace," I waved the notion off, not really interested in their fraud ass reasoning. "Now, since coming here, I've done what I was asked of. I even went down to the Hospital to lend my medic's training. I've done what I could to show your citizens that your Kazekage is not a rage monster and is capable of loving someone. I even took on a young hopelessly lost girl as my apprentice."

"I wouldn't call Ukyo 'hopeless'," Gaara uttered again.

"Quiet you," I waved him off again. "As I was saying, I came here and did what you guys asked of me despite withholding information from me—uh yeah, publicity stunt? Not cool, just saying," I rambled away. The Elders seemed one hundred percent done with my shit but Gaara still remained bemused. "What was I talking about? Oh! Oh yeah, _missions_. Now," I pushed off of the table and sauntered around until I came to a stop at Gaara. "My problem right now is the lack of missions I'm getting. Which, you know, is at zero. I'm not sure what went down when you met with Tsunade and Konoha's council but I'm pretty sure they did tell you I'm a ninja and what do ninjas do? They go on a missions."

I slid to sit on the arm of the chair and wrestled Gaara's arm around my waist. He shot me a deadly look but didn't fight me off. "I haven't done shit but healed broken bones, delivered babies, wiped snotty noses, pulled thorns out of stupid kids' asses and anything else a medic is supposed to do."

"My Lady," one of the members to the left waved my attention down. He was one of the ones who disliked me. Amun, was his name. I remembered because what kind of name was Amun? That sounded stupid. "On your file it says you are a medical ninja so wouldn't working at the Hospital be a good idea for you?"

I knew that he was trying to be a smart-ass. I titled my head to the side with a tight smile. "Actually, my file says I have medical training. I am not a medical ninja, I'm an ANBU member with medical ninjutsu. That's it."

The members shared a collective look and then glanced at Gaara. I quirked an eyebrow and looked down at him, catching his gaze. I didn't have to say anything more, I'm sure my eyes conveyed my message well to him.

_Agree with them and I swear to God I'll suplex you right now._

I'm sure Gaara would rather deal with the council's anger over dealing with mine. According him, I had this amazing talent of not being able to shut the hell up when I was annoyed. What an ass. He sighed, long and heavy and I only smiled. "When Xin agreed to come here, she agreed to become my wife," He started to say as I idly played with his messy hair. "She did not agree to become my _house_wife. She is a ninja before she is my wife, she made that clear. On top of that, she hasn't done anything that would make us question her loyalty."

Right! Well...except for killing Shintaro but that just self-defense. Sort of. Okay, I probably didn't have to snap his neck...or maybe I did. Nah, yeah, totally made the right call on that one.

"What about questioning her sanity?"

I turned into the direction, council member's Taka's direction. According to Baki, Taka had been firmly against me being picked as Gaara's wife. In fact, he'd been against Konoha. Obviously he had some weird obsessive thing against Konoha. Slipping my arm around Gaara's neck, I leaned over. I felt his hand pressing against my side to support my weight and stopping me from falling over into his lap. "Ah, I'm sorry, what was that? Did you say something? I couldn't hear you mumbling under your breath, Taka-san. Could you repeat that? Speak up."

Baki grabbed the back of my shirt and yanked me backwards. I huffed and settled back on the arm of Gaara's chair. "Xin-san is perfectly sane, Taka-san. Do not speak out of line again," Baki warned him with a sneer.

Oh, hell yeah. Baki was totally team Xin.

Taka shot me a nasty glare but I simply smiled innocently back at him. Mai suddenly clapped her hands, much like a teacher would do to get the attention of disruptive children. "If we're done squabbling like children," She strummed out blankly. The council came to a halt. They began to speak among themselves, discussing whether or not I should be allowed to have missions. I rolled my eyes and wrapped both of my arms around Gaara's neck. I hummed a little tune and hugged him to my chest, resting my head on top of his head.

Gaara sighed heavily but for whatever reason, allowed my clingy antics. Baki chose to stay out of the discussion, hopefully that meant he agreed to let me go on missions. I'm pretty sure Baki at least liked me.

The discussion came to a quick halt. Mai's old eyes found me and she smiled slowly. "Alright, my Lady, you're right. You will get your missions if that is what you desire."

I smiled in amusement and loosened my grip on Gaara's neck. "I hope you don't mean I'll be getting low-ranked missions now."

Mai only smirked back at me. "Well, my Lady, that's completely up to your husband to be, isn't it?"

* * *

I found myself humming a soft lullaby my Mom used to hum when Hinata and I would come sit at her bedside when we were kids. It was the only time I was really allowed near my Mother as a child.

A sudden pathetic mewling from my left caused me to pause. Frowning in confusion I approached the alleyway and peered in. Big blue eyes stared at me from behind a knocked over trash can. "Well, hello darling," I greeted the small creature. I crouched close to the sanded ground. I clicked my tongue and held my hand out in a non-threatening way. A furry head poked out from the darkness of the alleyway. I smiled down at the tiny kitten and watched as the kitten carefully made the careful trek towards my hand.

"Where's your Mama, darling?" I cooed at the kitten. The kitten was the same shade as charcoal paired with startling blue eyes. "Oh, darling, don't tell me. Are you an orphan? On your own, hm? Just like me," I pouted. The kitten mewled again and butted its' head against my hand. The little creature leaned forward to nip and lick at my fingers. "Well, I quite like you," I continued to coo. I slipped my hand under its' body and pulled it to my chest. "Oh, you're a girl."

I cooed and coddled the little baby. "Would you like to come along with me, darling? I think I could use the company. I was never one for cats but my teammate always liked them. You have blue eyes like her, how about it?"

Kitty mewled and curled into my embrace and I took that as a yes. I let out a hum of satisfaction and stood to my height. "Well then, darling, I suppose I should come up with a name, eh? Ah, we should stop at the pet store as well. How do you think Gaara would react to having you?"

I spent the afternoon in the pet store, buying two of everything. Something told me the Sand siblings wouldn't react too well to the new member of the family so I figured I'd buy pet supplies to put into my office as well. "What a great day I'm having. First I get my missions and now I've met a little friend along the way, isn't that nice?" I grinned as I set the plastic bowls down in the corner of my office. "I'll have Ukyo look after you if I'm gone too long on missions, you'll like her. She's a good kid."

I stood to my height and paused, blinking with my head tilted to the side. "I'm having a one sided conversation with a kitten I just found in an alleyway," I stated with puckered lips. "Perhaps they are right to question my sanity..." I trailed off with a weak smile. There was a light knock at the door. "Someone's actually bothering to knock? Come in!" I called out as the cat began butting her head against my leg. I scooped her up and set her to sit on my shoulder, she was actually small enough. Must have been the runt of her litter. She seemed pretty smart too, carefully coiling into my neck.

Hideki stepped into my office, much to my surprise. "Good evening, my Lady!" He greeted with a great big grin. I only quirked my eyebrow at him, hand on my hip. I did a full sweep of him but couldn't find anything physically wrong.

"Hey, kid. What's up?"

Hideki might have been my favorite out of the Mikawa siblings. He pissed me off the least and he always had a smile over his face whenever I saw him. He was a good kid, I had high hopes for Kankuro's team, they all had promise. Usui just had to get his shit together so he could be on the same level as his sister and teammate.

"Kyo just came back from a mission," He started to say and I felt my shoulders slump. I hummed and he took that as an okay to keep talking. "He's banged up pretty bad and Susu and Jura asked me to come ask you if you would come see him."

Oh, they were good.

I sighed dramatically while the kitten snuggled into my neck. "How could I say no that face?" I sighed heavily and ruffled Hideki's hair. For once, he let me do it without trying to fight me off. He was too busy staring at the kitten coiled into a tight ball on my shoulder. "Come on," I led the way out. "I found her today, figured I could use a pet," I made idle chit chat with the young Chunin.

"What's her name?"

"She doesn't have one, not yet."

Hideki nodded and eyed the kitten. She opened one eye lazily and mewled at him before settling back into her cat nap. "How about Ume?" He suddenly suggested out of nowhere. The kitten seemed to perk up at the name.

I glanced down at her, eyebrow quirked. "Guess you like that name, huh? She didn't react to any of the names I suggested all afternoon," I huffed, one hand on my hip. The kitten seemed to like the name enough and I shrugged my other shoulder. "Ume it is, thank you, Hideki," I smile down at him, liking the name a lot. He only smiled as we came down his road. Once we entered his home, I slipped Ume off of my shoulder and into his hands. "Could you look after her while I fix your stubborn brother up? She's well-behaved. Well, I think she is."

The youngest Mikawa simply nodded before hurrying deeper into the house, calling out for his two sisters to meet Ume. I smiled softly after him and then sighed heavily, glancing up the stairs. Rolling me eyes, I began climbing them. Kyohei looked like utter shit and I had half a mind to leave him like that. Maybe he would just bleed out and I could say it was an accidental death. That was totally believable.

"What are you doing here?" Kyohei's voice broke me from my murderous thoughts. Not only did he look like shit, he also sounded like shit as well. He might have been kicked in the throat. I could soothe the ache but I thought to leave the injury alone. He had to suffer some way after being healed.

Approaching him with a lazy swagger, I settled on the edge of his bed. "Asuna and Jura sent Hideki to me to come heal you," I answered blandly. "Couldn't say no to that face now could I?" I shrugged before healing the largest wound I could find. Kyohei said nothing, murky blue eyes narrowed at me. "You sure are sloppy. Every time you come back from a mission, you look like a load of shit," I uttered after a long pause. Kyohei stared at me, probably wondering why I was even bothering to talk to him. It was unspoken but we both knew. We both knew his real intentions towards me.

He sneered at me, clearly offended. "You wouldn't understand, my Lady," He spat the word out viciously. "You're just a medical ninja, holed up in her office,_ safe_," He scowled harshly.

I peeked up at him, eyebrow quirked. "Do you see this?" I paused in healing long enough to tap my tattoo. He glanced at it but didn't answer. "Back in Konoha, this is a symbol that every ANBU member is required to have," I stated shortly. "And besides, you'd be wise not to insult a medical ninja, no matter if they're holed up in an office safe or not."

Kyohei just stared at me. "So," I pulled back and molded my chakra to take the form of a sharp blade over my hand. "If I wanted to kill you right now," I leaned forward, the chakra scalpel coming dangerously close to his throat. "I could."

He discreetly leaned away. "Then why don't you?"

The blade flickered out and I molded the chakra back into my hand to press into another wound. "Well," I began to say lightly. "It wouldn't be quite fun this way, now would it? It would be too clean of a death. I think you would deserve something bloody, don't you? You are an ANBU ninja. Death by a chakra scalpel seems kind of boring."

The room fell into silence. "You're nuts."

"All the best people are."

* * *

"What the hell is that?"

I paused in the middle of making Miso soup and glanced over my shoulder at Gaara. I was surprised he was home in time for dinner but decided not to comment on that. "Well, in Konoha, we simply call it Miso soup. I figured it's very common but perhaps I'm wrong?"

Gaara fixed me with a terrible glare. "Not that you harpy," He sneered at me and I twisted my face up at the insult. "That black ball of fur at your feet. What the hell is that?" He pointed just to make sure I knew exactly what he was talking about.

"She's a kitten," I shrugged indifferently as Ume threaded herself in between my legs. "Hideki came up with the name, personally I wanted to name her maybe Aoki or something but she wasn't really feeling it, I guess. But she seemed to like it when Hideki said Ume so...meet Ume," I used my foot to gently nudge her towards him.

Gaara stared down at the kitten, frowning before looking back up at me. "Take it back," He ordered, putting on his best Kazekage voice that usually left no room for argument. I twisted my lips up at him, throwing the look over my shoulder to make sure he could see it.

"She. Not it. She's not an 'it'," I scowled at him, turning back around. "And there's no where to take her back to. I found her. She probably already memorized the way back to this house so even if I left her, she'd find her way back. She's smart, cats are smart like that," I shrugged once more. Gaara narrowed those pretty blue eyes at me and glanced down at the mewling cat. He made a point to ignore her, sitting down at the dinner table. I only ignored him and continued preparing dinner, half-halfheartedly greeting Temari and Kankuro when they came from God knows where.

They asked about Ume as well but they didn't seem to dislike her like Gaara. She tried to scramble into my lap but I firmly told her to behave and go eat her own dinner. Almost like a person, she listened with no questions asked and wandered over to her bowl of food. Dinner went well, we barely bickered. It was near the end of dinner when Gaara glanced at me. I noticed it and quirked an eyebrow. "What? What's with that look?" I frowned, wondering if this would be the beginning of one of our many arguments.

"It's a mission," He stated simply, just watching me. "It's not a dangerous one. Just a recovery mission. The Elders agreed to let you receive missions but they insisted that you start with..."

"Normal missions? No killing? No forms of torture or interrogation?"

Temari only glanced in between us, frowning. "No missions at the table if it's not about your day," She reminded us offhandedly. I pouted and rolled my eyes but nodded nonetheless .

It wasn't until Gaara was put on dish duty that he mentioned the mission again. Of course, since I cooked, I was never on dish duty. Part of the kitchen rules I made up. I'll make the food but I won't do dishes, they all seemed to be fine with it. I guess they'll take dish duty over shitty food. "There's a forbidden scroll that's been stolen and stored away in a base close to Konoha's territory," He began to explain over the clinking and clanking of dishes and silverware. I only frowned, leaning against the counter. For Forbidden scrolls they never seemed quite...you know...forbidden. They seemed kind of easy to steal.

"Konoha's territory, hm? Wanna get the scroll back before someone from Konoha comes across and raids the base?"

"Well, it does belong to Suna for a reason and not to Konoha. I figured you would know the area better than the other two shinobi who will be going with you," Gaara stated in a simple tone. I only glanced up at him, frowning with a quirked brow.

"Two other shinobi will be going? Ah, doesn't sound as simple as you make it," I commented airily. "Either this mission is more dangerous or you don't quite trust me so close to Konoha."

The tall redhead simply shrugged. "Either take the mission or wait until there's another mission for you to take."

"Ah, I actually get a choice in taking the mission or not? What is that, a perk of dating the Kazekage?" I teased lightly, grinning broadly. Gaara snorted at that and only shrugged, muttering a quick _'take it or leave it.' _

So I took it.

* * *

I left work for Ukyo to study while I would be on this mission. I also left her instructions to come to the Sand Siblings' home to feed Ume and clean her litter box out. I figured the Siblings would end up forgetting about her if I wasn't there to remind them. The two ninjas I would be going with were Kou and Oda. They seemed nice enough, I guess. Didn't talk much but I could tell they got along with each other just fine. I felt secluded from them but I figured it was no big deal, I wasn't there to be friends. I was there to get the job done.

I refused to wear those God-awful flak jackets. Nothing Gaara could say would convince me to wear it. He insisted that the flak-jacket would help defend me from the sun and the sandstorms that were bound to happen but I refused. "You're barely wearing clothes."

I rolled my eyes and patted my weapons' pouch. "I'm wearing enough," I stated with a wave of my hand. "So, the only thing I'm getting is a scroll right?" I hummed casually while patting at my medics' pouch. It's a simple mission and all but you can never be too sure. Something I had to learn the hard way.

"It's a forbidden scroll, Xin, meaning it's absolutely important that you bring it back the way you find it."

"For a forbidden scroll, these things sure are easy to just steal."

"Go on your mission before I take it from you. Kou and Oda should be waiting for you."

I only grinned at him but nodded. "See you when I see you," I waved over my shoulder and quickly left, making my way towards the gates of the village. It was impossibly early, damn there the ass crack of dawn. It would take three days and two nights to even reach the edge of Konoha's territory. From what Gaara said, the base was somewhere on the outskirts of Konoha. So, it should be pretty easy to find.

"G'morning!" I exclaimed with boundless energy as I approached Kou and Oda. They both glanced over at me, eyebrows quirked. I waved to the gatekeeper with a great big grin as I left the Sandy village only to look out towards the vast desert. Awesome.

Three days, two nights and several sandstorms later _(which, nearly blinded me for God's_ _sake's)_ we reached the outskirts of Konoha. "Fuckin' Christ," I muttered, shaking loose grains of sand out of my hair. "Still not use to Suna's weather, my Lady?" Kou asked casually as he and Oda stood over me. I glanced up at him thoughtlessly. Neither of the two had done much talking and I caught Oda giving me what I assumed were dirty looks several times during our travels.

Swiping some sand from shoulder, I frowned. "Well, it's not like we get sand in Konoha. Ever. As you can see, we're surrounded by trees and you know...our namesake does translate as the Village Hidden in the Leaves...so...no. I'm not use to the sand."

Kou only hummed quietly while Oda squinted at me. "Since this is your former territory, I assume you may know of the location of the base?" He asked in a gruff voice. The tone of his voice irked my last nerve, like he was too good to bother having a conversation with me. I only stared at him, head tilted to the side. I thought about reprimanding him for his tone of voice but didn't bother with it. The faster we got this mission over with, the faster we could go our separate ways.

Without saying anything else, I activated my Byakugan and searched the vicinity. Towards the East, I picked up weak chakra signals. "To the East," I shrugged and without saying much else, I sped off in the direction. Kou and Oda scrambled to catch up to me, carefully maneuvering through the trees. It was like the roles were reversed now, before I was lagging during our travels through the desert. But now, I was flying, flinging, tumbling and hurtling myself easily through the trees, leaving Kou and Oda far behind.

It didn't take long to come across the base. "There's no one in there," I murmured to myself as my eyes searched for any signs of Chakra. The signals that led me here in the first place were impossibly weak, telling me that there hadn't been much activity going on for some time. "Guess they stowed the scroll away here and left. Kind of stupid, though, don't you think?"

I glanced behind me when I heard no answer with a frown. Three minutes later, Kou and Oda landed. "Having a hard time?" I asked wryly. Oda gave me another dirty look that I wasn't supposed to notice. But I did, of course.

"Let's get this over with," Oda grunted in that same gruff voice, moving past me towards the door of the base. A hand on my hip, I rolled my eyes but followed after him with Kou trailing behind me. Finding the scroll was pretty anticlimactic and disappointing. I mean, really, they could have least set some traps or something. I was nearly blown away in a sandstorm just to find this scroll in a room full of other _(clearly stolen) _goods.

Kou and Oda's eyes wildly searched the room, taking in all of the items. Rolling my eyes, I broke off from them to approach the Forbidden Scroll sitting innocently on an old pedestal. "This is a waste of time. It's like someone just wanted us to come in here and find it. The hardest part of this mission was getting through the damn desert. This isn't right..." I spoke to myself, picking the scroll up.

I suddenly heard harsh whispers and then the sound of something whirling through the air. Before I could gather my wits and turn around, something collided into the back of my head and I went right down, out like a light.

_End P.O.V_

* * *

Kou shifted nervously as Oda made his way over to the small woman, prying the scroll from her lax grip. He slipped the scroll into his pouch and looked down at her prone form. "Got her good," He grinned maliciously down at her, toeing her leg to make sure she was completely out.

"Oda," Kou called anxiously from the doorway. Oda only chuckled and kicked the woman a little harder, still grinning. "If we're going to leave, we should leave now," Kou tried to coax him away from Xin.

"Well," Oda sneered down at her. "Good riddance, Konoha filth," He spat out with such hatred laced into his words. He turned sharply and left the room. "Once we make it out, we'll set an explosive off and blow the building up. If that doesn't kill her, she'll eventually starve or suffocate under all that rubble."

Kou only frowned softly behind his companion. "And what do we tell the Kazekage when we return without his bride?" He asked quietly, almost mournfully. He kept glancing over his shoulder. If there's anything anyone knows about the ninja from Konoha, it was that they refused to go down without a fight. And well...the kunoichi from Konoha seemed a little...strange.

"We'll tell him what happened. An explosive went off at the last second and the Lady was caught in the crossfire. We tried to dig her out but it was simply impossible," Oda answered simply, not thinking it much over.

"Don't you think he would want to see the corpse?"

"We couldn't salvage it. She was unrecognizable and we figured he would want to remember her the way he saw her last. Beautiful and radiating with life, not shredded to bits and cold like a dead fish."

His somber companion only shook his head, slightly regretting ever agreeing to such an act. This was an act of betrayal to his Village and his leader. They were orchestrating the murder of their Kage's wife. And for what? Simply because she wasn't a native of Suna. An innocent woman had to die just because she was from another village.

Kou could only sigh as they eventually made their way down the hallway that would eventually lead to the door of the Base. He thought maybe to talk Oda out of his malicious scheme, to maybe turn around and go back for the woman. She was still alive, they could still do right. But he knew Oda. He knew his unhealthy hatred for Konoha stemming from an incident from his childhood, if Kou remembered correctly. He knew there would be no way he could talk Oda out of his scheme. The poor _(yet_ _strange)_ woman had to die because of her birthplace, nothing more, nothing less.

As they approached the door, Kou had a sudden feeling. Something dark. He glanced over his shoulder but spotted nothing. Despite that, he remained rooted, eyes searching wildly for nothing. A couple of paces ahead, Oda looked at him. "For God's sake, would you just—"

His companion was cut off when a _fist _suddenly broke through the wall. The fist uncurled, slim fingers spread out as if searching for something. Kou had fallen to his ass from the shock of seeing a fist breaking through the wall. Oda had only jumped but hadn't moved from his spot. Kou figured that's where he made the mistake. The fingers curled around Oda, clasping around his arm in an iron-like grip. The hand jerked, violently pulling Oda back _through_ the wall, creating a larger hole than the fist had originally made. Kou only watched in amazed horror as his companion vanished into the hole his body created.

Only a minute later was there a thump and then a terrible screech that would probably haunt Kou to the end of his days. There was a wet tearing sound from the hole and then the sound of liquid hitting the stone ground. Oda was still screaming, pausing only to heave erratically. His companion suddenly flew from the manhole, hitting the opposite wall with such force, Kou feared he would break through that wall with his body. Oda was groaning now and Kou could clearly see why.

Oda's left arm was missing.

Blood gushed and spurted from where his arm should be, he could see the jagged and sharp lining of his bone and shredded veins. Kou would have screamed but the scream caught somewhere in his throat due to the shock of seeing Xin step calmly from the manhole, holding a severed arm in her hand. She was eyeing Oda casually, with one eyebrow raised. "Stop your bitching," She ordered with an eerily calm voice. Xin approached the cowering man, standing over him with a soft frown. With her other hand, she reached to the back of her head, rubbing at the lump that probably formed. "Would you like to explain your actions?"

Through his pain, Oda somehow found the strength to scowl angrily at the tiny woman. Kou already knew the words his companion would fling from his tongue. "Filthy Konoha _bitch!" _Oda swore, spitting at Xin's feet. "You may have fooled my Kazekage but you can't fool me! I know, beneath that milky hide, there's nothing but emptiness! You're a fuckin' savage, you demon, not even human!"

Kou struggled to his feet. There was no way he was going to die at her hands for Oda's vile accusations. He took off, like the coward he was, past his companion and the lady. He didn't see Xin roll her head in his direction. Maybe it was due to his panicked state but if he had thought better of his escape method, he would have saw the kunai she had thrown. Instead, he could do nothing as the sharpened blade hit the back of his knee, sinking through the cloth of his pants and his flesh easily.

With a cry, Kou crumpled down, slamming his chin into the stone floor harshly. His teeth sank into his tongue, nearly severing the soft muscle. Blood filled his mouth and he choked on it, barely spitting it out. "Move again and the next kunai will be in the back of your skull," Her words broke through the haze of pain and chilled him enough to stay put. "Now, I could drag you back and have you punished. Trying to murder the bride of your Kazekage? I'm not too sure how things are in Suna but in Konoha, that's a serious crime. Punishable by death."

Kou couldn't see her or Oda but he was glad. "But I can't drag the both of you back. So. One of you will have to suffer for your crimes right now," She sounded optimistic and maybe that's what made Kou so uneasy. This was their lives she was talking about. The only indication that she was moving was the sounds of her heels striking the stone floor. Other than that, she was completely silent. She stood over Kou, hands on her hips, and stared down at his back with little remorse in her eyes.

"You seemed to be an unwilling participant," She suddenly uttered, ignoring Oda's sneers and threats flung at her back. "But you did try to abandon your companion, which is a shitty thing to do, you know?" She finished by lifting her foot and resting it on the kunai plunged into the back of his knee. The tip of the blade sank further into his knee until he felt it striking it again his kneecap. She was going to stomp the kunai right through his knee. There was no warning to it. The pressure left the kunai for a quick second before stomping down on it, driving it through just as he feared.

His eyes screwed shut so hard in his pain that tears were forced out. She left him then, twisting around to face Oda. He was still screaming profanities at her and Kou would have sighed in exasperation but he was too busy trying not to pass out. He heard the sound of Xin's heel slamming into Oda's face, well, he assumed that's what it was. It sure sounded like someone being kicked in the face. Oda's profanities ceased instantly. There was the sound of some shuffling before it was quiet once more.

The clicking of her heels resounded and the blade suddenly slipped easily out of his knee, like slicing butter. He hissed at the pressure as the blood gushed from his wound. Despite being an expert healer, Xin did not lend him her chakra. Instead, she only wrapped the wound, stopping the blood flow. "You'll return to Suna, Kou. Perhaps Gaara's punishment will be less harsh then what I have in mind. Can you walk?"

Did she really ask him if he could walk after shattering his kneecap? Was she out of her mind? Was she fuckin' crazy? Was she mad? Daft? What in God's name possessed her to think he would be able to walk?

The tiny woman sighed heavily and summoned a clone of herself. The clone reached down, grabbing the back of his vest. With a huff, the real kunoichi led the clone out of the base, dragging him behind. Oda was screaming again, although his words came out sluggishly. The woman kept going, only stopping when the three stood just outside of the base. "Oh? What about you, you ask?" She hummed casually. "Retribution, of course."

He didn't see but he heard. He heard the sizzle. He smelt it and heard the thud of the kunai as she threw it down.

The building exploded and Oda's screams ceased once more.

* * *

He wasn't worried or anything like that.

It's just...it took three days and two nights to reach Konoha. The trip shouldn't have taken long, depending on how quickly they moved. She could easily lead the team through the Forest while they easily could lead her through the Desert. It was a little over two weeks now and there was no word of his psychotic other half. He wasn't worried but he was curious. From all her bragging and boasting, a simple mission should not take long. Unless something went wrong.

What could go wrong on a simple mission?

_"Anything. Anything could go wrong. They could be accosted by other shinobi. By the shinobi who stole the scroll in the first place. Boarder patrol. Konoha shinobi. Nuke-nin. Hunter-nin." _

Gaara glanced out of the window that showed him the gates to the Village. It was impossibly early and the village still slept peacefully. The sun hadn't even greeted the Sand City yet. Kankuro, for whatever reason, slept on the couch of the office. Temari sat next to their slumbering brother's head, reading and organizing something important over. He still wasn't sure why either of his siblings were hanging around his office so early in the morning but he chose not to ask about it.

It's not like they were awaiting Xin's impeding arrival or anything like that.

The door suddenly eased open and it caught both his and his sister's attention instantly. Kankuro remained sleeping, snoring obnoxiously. Temari glanced at her brother and with a scowl, smacked him awake. Kankuro sputtered as Xin swept into the office, dragging a body behind her. She looked unscathed and horribly bored. She stopped at his desk and dropped the body with no regards to the groan that erupted from it. Instead, she reached into one of her pouches and produced what was assumed to be the Forbidden Scroll.

She placed it down carefully and said nothing else. Gaara looked at the scroll and then his eyes found hers. Her face was blank, no movement except for the slow rise of her brows as if she was silently asking him, _what? _

"Your team?"

She nodded her head, as if suddenly realizing the point of his question. "Oda is most likely dead and Kou is right here," She explained shortly with no tone to her voice. It was just something factual, there was no emotional attachment to her words. Like she was talking about something simple, not the death of a teammate. "Kou, care to explain what happened on our mission?" She looked down at the quiet body.

She reached down and seized the shinobi by his brown hair. With a jerk, she lifted and slammed Kou's head into the desk. Temari sprang to her feet while Kankuro fumbled and tumbled off the couch. "Xin! Let him go now!" She shrilly ordered.

"Kou, your Kazekage is awaiting an explanation. Tell him what you and Oda were trying to do."

It took minutes for the shinobi to gather his wits, explaining with fright laced into his words exactly what happened on their time away from the village. He went into detail, explaining Oda's unhealthy hatred for Konoha, his scheming, his actions and finally his death. "He did it all for you," Xin spoke with little care, slowly uncurling her fingers from Kou's hair. "Didn't want Suna to be poisoned with the presence of Konoha's filth," She continued, although it didn't seem like she was offended.

Gaara sighed heavily as Kou slumped to the floor. "You can't just decide these things, Xin," He reprimanded her. Xin seemed unaffected by his words, shrugging one of her shoulders to show her disinterest.

"I only defended myself," She hummed with another shrug. "They had every intention of leaving me there to die. What was it that Oda was saying before I caught up to you two? I'll eventually starve to death or suffocate is the explosion didn't kill me first, right?"

She nudged Kou's leg, ignoring his groan of pain. "Right, my Lady," He uttered pathetically. She only glanced down at him, showing no real concern for him. She was frowning softly, eyes glossed over in thought.

"In Konoha, this is a crime punishable by death. Quite honestly, I don't think Kou should be killed despite his involvement. He was against Oda's plan. His only crime is his pathetically weak will to speak up and stand up for himself. Oh! And the fact that he left his teammate to die without looking back. That is very frowned upon in Konoha. Well, depending on who you're talking to."

Gaara only massaged his temples. "How bad are his injuries, Xin?"

"Shattered kneecap, open wound on the back of the knee, needs his eyes flushed out, starvation, bruised chin along with an abrasion, he bit his tongue pretty hard when he fell and he probably should be checked for skin cancer, I left him out in the sun for too long."

"You starved him?"

"The human body can survive for some time without food as long as they stay hydrated. I made sure he was never dehydrated."

"Yeah, so he can suffer longer," Kankuro muttered under his breath. Xin glanced at him and then slowly smiled. Kankuro shivered under her gaze and shook his head, knowing full well that his future sister in law was bat shit crazy.

Gaara knew it too but sighed instead of commenting on her psychotic ways. "Kankuro and Temari, take Kou to the hospital to have him looked after. As soon as he is cleared to leave, I want him to report back here. Immediately." Gaara's eyes met Kou's eyes. The exhausted shinobi could only nod his head. "And Xin," Gaara stopped the tiny woman from leaving. She froze and then glanced over her shoulder. "Due to the fact that one teammate is dead and the other needs medical attention, you will write a full mission report and deliver it as soon as you're finished."

"But I just told you—"

"Full. Mission. Report. Immediately."

Xin's sigh was drawn out and dramatic. "Alright, alright, gotcha, Boss. Loud and clear. Mission Report. ASAP." She saluted him with two fingers before leaving the office without another word.

Temari glanced down at Kou's crumpled form. "He probably needs therapy."

The sun was beginning to pour over Suna when Xin emerged from the Kage's tower. A headache strummed to life, springing to life from the back of her head. She was covered in sand from the desert and leaves and twigs from the forest. Her muscles ached but she felt...so light.

Perhaps it was because she finally got the feeling of freedom of a mission. As easy and short as it was, she felt the freedom once more. Maybe it was because she felt better after traveling through Konoha's forest like she had done so many times before she left Konoha. Or maybe...maybe it was because she was able to murder someone once more.

"Good morning, my Lady!"

The village suddenly sprang to life as the villagers began their day. She blinked as they began to mill around. Raising her hand, she waved and smiled sweetly. "Good morning, sir," She greeted politely.

"Good day, my Lady!"

"How are you this morning, my Lady?"

"Are you just returning from a mission, my Lady? Hopefully it was a success!"

The villagers continued to greet her the same way and despite her annoyance with the way her mission had gone, she politely returned each and other greeting thrown her way. Despite the kindness, she knew some villagers felt the same way as Oda and would rather see her suffer. She moved easily through the village, continuously greeting any and every villager that she happened to come across. Once she finally reached the Sand sibling's home, she felt the familiar exhaustion after missions. Her adrenaline rush and satisfaction was nullified as the exhaustion settled in.

The mission report could wait. Now, she needed a shower and a nap.

* * *

Gaara found her in the bedroom, swaddled and tangled in the covers and sheets of the bed. He approached the bed and sat on the edge, sinking into the mattress. Despite his annoyance for her actions, he'd also felt his chest become lighter the minute she came through the door. And for that, he was confused. This woman drove him up a wall. She was cruel, sadistic, whiny, crude and selfish. She was not someone he would normally associate with. She was both a sociopath and psychopath.

How it was possible to be both, he was unsure but she managed it well.

This woman was cancerous, she was crazy and would lead him to an early grave. He was sure of that much. She wasn't any good, he knew all of that. And if Oda had achieved his plan in killing the woman, his life would be much easier. As bad as that sounded, it was the truth. Xin shifted and peeked over her shoulder, eyes glazed over with sleep. "Morning," She uttered past slow lips, hair falling over her shoulder. Gaara actually let out a dry laugh as she rolled over on her back.

"It's four in the afternoon."

"Oh. Well. Shit. I didn't do that mission report."

"I figured."

This time, she laughed. Although it was soft and a little raspy with sleep. It was cute. Gaara mentally scowled. Cute. He didn't think shit was cute. He was a grown ass man and didn't think anything was cute, let alone this psychopath.

"Xin, why are you the way you are?" the question left him before he really thought it over. It formed completely on its' own and left him before he could stop himself. The question caused her to open her eyes once again to look at him, she was frowning. But not in anger or frustration from his sudden question.

She was frowning in thought, like she was seriously regarding his question. As if she had to take a step back to seriously look at her life and somehow come up with the reason why she was the way she was and did the things she did. "I think it's because of my childhood," She admitted after a full minute of being quiet. He looked down at her, frowning in thought. Was her childhood so horrible that it turned her into a raging sadistic psycho? How was that even possible? She shifted again, getting more comfortable.

"I don't think it was as horrible as Naruto's childhood or even your childhood. Compared to your childhood, mine is relatively normal. It's just...how I took it. When I was a child, I felt like my parents did not love me. I felt like my family didn't love me because I wasn't my sister or what they wanted to be," She pulled and plucked at the sheet as the words tumbled from her lips.

Maybe it was the sleep that was making her talk. Xin was usually tight lipped about her life in Konoha. All she really talked about was her rank or her medical training. She didn't mention how she was raised or her relationship with her parents or even her siblings.

"My Mom was really sick when I was a kid, having one child was one thing because she carried my younger sister easily. But having twins really put a strain on her. My grandmother said it wasn't my fault but what would you think if you were told your Mother became really sick after having you? Hell, why would they even tell a child that? For a long time I thought I almost killed my Mom," She was rambling. "It's not like they'd blame Hinata, she was older so she was just...invulnerable to the blame."

She paused for a second. "So that made me a little bitter. Then my Father just kind of gave up on us. Well, he didn't give up on Hina until we were Genin. Kurenai-san took over her training and he just completely ignored Hina then. But I was already a non-factor. I think he was bitter because I almost killed his wife and I wasn't even a boy. You know, in clans like ours, boys are always wanted over having girls. They're better to be heirs. No one really wants a heiress."

Again, she paused for a long moment. Like she was taking the minute to ask herself if she really wanted to talk about this. As she said before, her childhood probably wasn't as bad as his. She wasn't looking for anyone's sympathy.

"I grew up isolated from my parents and my siblings. My grandmother raised and trained me. I wasn't allowed near my sisters and I was forbidden from seeing my Mother unless I was supervised. I had too much energy and too much spunk. The black sheep of the family, you know? I got in trouble a lot when I was in the academy so the older ninja would drag me home to tell on me to my Dad. It didn't do much but get him to give me this evil ass look. I was looking for attention and always got the wrong type of attention.

He'd summon my Grandmother and order her to put me in the Quiet Room for hours with no dinner and no training. It was just a room with no windows and nothing in it and I had to sit in the middle of the room and be quiet. It may not seem bad now and it wouldn't bother me to sit quietly now but as a hyperactive child, you could see how this would drive me crazy. I was put into that room a lot and it forced me to speak to myself a lot. I'd have internal conversations a lot."

Again, she paused but this time her eyes were a little wide. Like she just realized something. _"That's where you came from, isn't it?" _she thought to herself, searching internally for that damn voice in her head. _"You came from all those times I was talking to myself when I was a kid, didn't you?" _

The voice didn't say anything. _"_I was desperate for a companion," Xin uttered so softly, he barely caught it. "I wanted someone to love me unconditionally and for someone to praise me. I was starved for attention and love and when I didn't get it from my parents or anyone else in my family, I grew detached. I had little to no regard for human life."

Gaara reached out and swept his fingers into her hair. Their relationship was strange. They hated and bickered with one another but sometimes had moments like this. Moments when they seemed to get along really well and understood one another.

"The older I got, it made me think, if my parents don't even care about me, why should I care about anyone else? What makes you deserve that when I didn't get it? It's very sad, I think. Your parents are supposed to raise you and love you and teach you right from wrong. We're all a reflection of our parents' choices on how to raise us."

She rolled onto her side, showing him her back and causing his fingers to pull at her hair. She was quiet again, probably mulling over her childhood. "I thought that with all I was achieving, they could be proud of me. The older I got, the more detached I became and then at some point I realized they would not be proud of me. Ever. But they always kept me and I figured they _had_ to love me or _something_ because they could have completely abandoned me."

"And then...'we' happened," Gaara uttered quietly.

"They didn't have much of a problem giving their daughter over to a foreign village without a second thought. Didn't even really question it. And no offense but at the time we didn't know you from a can of paint, all we knew was that you had a psychotic reputation as the Demon of the Sand. But they gave me right up. No questions asked," Xin's face twisted up at the memory and Gaara twisted her locks, lightly pulling them.

It was like a dam in him broke. He was suddenly talking, weaving together the screwed up story of his childhood. The death of his Mother, the Shukaku being sealed in him, his Father, his Uncle betraying him, hating him. Everything. His complete disregard to human life, his sick fascination in taking the lives of others. By the end of his story, she was looking up at him. "I told you my childhood wasn't shit compared to yours," Xin uttered after a long moment, a sparkle of humor lighting up her eyes. "Do you ever miss it?"

"Xin..."

He pulled a little harder at her hair but she didn't seem bothered by the pressure. In fact, she seem to find some sort of relief from it. "No, I mean, do you miss the missions? Do you miss the fights? No just recklessly killing people, well, maybe that too. But do you miss being a shinobi?"

It was his turn to quietly think over his answer. "Sometimes. In the beginning I did, it was a big change," His fingers pulled at her hair once more but she didn't stop the treatment. "But I realized that things were different and I was no longer just fighting for myself. I had to fight for my village."

A slow smile crept across her face. "Corny."

"Shut up and get up, I need that mission report."

* * *

"I don't understand why I have to go along with this."

Gaara rolled his eyes as Xin trailed after him nearly a week later. They quickly got back into the swing of their relationship, seemingly forgetting their bonding over shitty childhoods. "You have to go along with this because you mentally scarred him and the last thing we need is him going around saying Suna's Kazekage is marrying a sociopath."

"Suna's Kazekage has a lot of nerve throwing names around like that."

"Is it a lie?"

Xin dramatically made a show of rolling her eyes as they entered the Hospital. The black kitten, Ume, followed at Xin's heels. According to the Sand Siblings, the cat was oddly humane and although she wasn't a troublemaker, she only seemed to follow Xin's orders. She paused and looked down at the black ball of fur as she nipped and pawed at the back of Xin's sandals. She clicked her tongue at Ume and motioned with two fingers. The cat followed the silent order easily, scaling Xin's side until she settled comfortably on her shoulder.

"That cat is strange," Gaara commented, watching the entire spectacle. Xin scratched under Ume's chin, causing the kitten to purr in satisfaction. "Just like her owner," He added blandly. Ume glanced at him, seemingly understanding him with a flicker of her eyes.

"You're just upset because your pet is a raging and perverted Tanuki."

Gaara gave her a scathing look but she smiled innocently. "More importantly, try to act accordingly. When you go into this room, you're not a kunoichi. You're a woman trying to keep her reputation."

"Never-mind the fact I care little for my reputation."

"If it gets out that you are a threat to my village, this whole plan will be for nothing and if you're even allowed to remain a Suna kunoichi, your right to have missions will be revoked. Is that something you want?"

Xin threw her head back. "Ugh," She groaned in annoyance. "Look at you, using logic against me, knowing having missions is the most important thing to me," She uttered after a moment.

Gaara shot her a serious look before opening the door and allowing her in first. The occupant of the room glanced up slowly, eyes widening as the woman evenly strolled into the room with...a cat perched on her shoulder? His face twisted up in confusion as the Kazekage entered after her, shutting the door behind him. "Good afternoon, Kazekage-sama," Kou uttered respectfully, bowing his head. "Good afternoon, my Lady," He followed up, steadily avoiding Xin's gaze as the couple returned his greeting.

"How are you feeling, Kou?" Gaara asked first, standing at a respectful distance. Xin's medical training kicked in and her eyes studied the shinobi. Hands folded across her chest, she tilted her head to the side.

"Not sleeping much, Kou?"

The bedraggled shinobi flinched at her simple question. "How could you tell, my Lady?" He asked slowly, noting the look the young Kage shot her. She easily ignored the look in favor of staring at him. A smile threatened to break out across her lips at her obvious discomfort. Maybe she would have allowed it to stretch across her face if Gaara wasn't standing next to her. Instead, she managed to keep it under control with there only being a slight twitch at the corner of her lips.

Xin shrugged one of her shoulders. "Medic's intuition?" She rhetorically asked. "You have dark circles under your eyes and they're puffy. Your skin is looking pretty sallow too. Your reactions are kind of slow and you just look tired."

Kou could only nod, eyes flicking back and forth between the couple. "Is there something I can be of assistance of? I'm sure Xin-san wrote a mission report," Kou politely stated, feeling uncomfortable under their gazes. Gaara moved to stand behind Xin, pinching her where her shirt and pants gaped at. She jumped at the motion and almost kicked him in retaliation.

Attached at his hip, the miniature gourd he carried around for convenience shifted as sand slowly dripped out of it. Xin didn't seem to notice as it coiled and crawled across the floor in a straight line. It stopped at the chair in the corner, coiling around its' legs and pulling it towards Xin. Hand on her lower back, Gaara guided Xin to sit in the chair, placed at Kou's bedside. Xin obediently followed his urging, knowing if she showed her obvious distaste at his touching, it would set off warning bells off with Kou.

"Listen to me, Kou," She began to say, licking her lips. Ume mewed and hopped down from Xin's shoulder into her lap. Xin idly played with the kitten, eyes boring into Kou's eyes. "I still stand by what I said about you abandoning Oda."

"Xin—"

"No, you dragged me down here and I'm going to be straight with him. I don't know what type of image your council has cooked up of me but I have my own ideals and views that I stand by. And one thing I will follow is never abandoning a comrade, which, Kou did without a second thought. It was cowardly."

_"That's rich," _the voice suddenly emerged after being silent for days. With the absence of the ever-present voice, Xin had started to believe that voice was gone for good. But of course, that could never be. _"Coming from the woman who murdered her comrades, you want to start preaching?" _

Xin twisted her lips up at that but said nothing back to it. Maybe if she ignored it, it would go away again. "Because of your cowardice, someone had to die. Granted, he would have died either way because I'm sure Gaara wouldn't have believed I got myself blown up. Even I wouldn't believe that."

"Even if she had gotten herself blown up, I'm sure she would have haunted me."

"Ha, funny, very funny. Anyway—" She paused, making a show of giving Gaara a dirty look. "That's not what we're here for. I'm sure you know reputation is very important to us shinobi, right? For instance, your reputation would go to Hell if anyone found out you abandoned your comrade when he needed you the most, right?"

"I would think so, yes."

"Right!" She clapped her hands and stood up, noticing Kou flinching away. Ume dropped to her feet, whining at Xin's sudden movements. "Reputation is important to all of us so I would appreciate it if you didn't go around telling the citizens that I had to kill Oda the way I did. It's one thing for the fellow shinobi to know how I can be but the council believe that's it's very important that the citizens think I'm some sort of angel, which, I admit I am not. I'm a kunoichi, as I've said a thousand times but you know image is very important."

She was standing over him now, smiling sweetly. She lifted her hands and placed them on the sides of his head. For a moment Kou swore she would jerk and snap his neck. Instead her hands began to glow and he felt soothing chakra flowing into glanced up at her and nearly froze at the expression in her eyes.

_If you tell anyone about this, I will hunt you down and I will break everything in you until you're just a shell. And then, only then, will I grant you the sweet release of death when I rip your head from your shoulders and use it as a soup bowl._

* * *

The house was buzzing with energy, Temari noted while sliding out of her sandals. Down the hall she could hear a lot of banter and took notice of the other sandals lined up. Xin, Kankuro and Gaara were all home. It was a strange thing to have all of them at home at one time. The only time they were ever in the house together like this was in the morning right before they left to get their own day started.

"I can't believe you let him knock you out like that!"

"I didn't let him do anything!"

"Oh, God! You suck, you really suck!"

There was a thump, like something hitting Gaara's sand shield. Kankuro's loud laughter ceased immediately. "Did you just throw a pan at my head?!" His voice carried loudly, bouncing off the walls as Temari veered into the living room. She flopped down on the couch, figuring Gaara could play mediator. She was exhausted.

"My hand slipped."

"Your wife tried to throw a pan at my head!"

"Not my wife yet."

"That hurts, that really hurts, Gaara."

"Don't care."

Temari snorted and grabbed one of the throw pillows, pulling it to her to bury her face into it. If she had been told how exhausting planning a fake wedding would be, she would have never volunteered to help. Well, she was more so coaxed into volunteering. She wasn't completely sure what Xin had done to the council but they seemed uneasy by her presence. Baki mentioned something about the colors beige, sandy brown and tan but for the life of her, she couldn't figure out what that had to do with anything.

Things were different she realized once the sound of laughter made its' way to her. Truth be told, the Sand Siblings got along well after Gaara had worked to reinvent his image but there was always a sort of emptiness that followed the three around. She noticed it especially when she would return to an empty home. Their big house, their big empty house. Xin's tiny presence somehow made a difference, an impact on their once lonely house.

Maybe it was because the little midget insisted that they have dinner and made it a point to cook so there was something to look forward to. Sure, Gaara wasn't always able to join them but even he had leftovers to look forward to once he came home late at night. It wasn't just the food that made the difference, it was the energy. Their home seemed more inviting and as of late, more comfortable. And she guessed it was because of Xin crash landing into their lives. She wasn't sure how things were more comfortable with Xin around since everything that came out of the woman's mouth was a creative threat.

"Xin, what's wrong with your cat? Get her away from me."

"She's not even bothering you, shut up."

"She could have fleas."

"_You _probably have fleas, Kankuro."

Again, Temari snorted into the pillow. Things hadn't really gone how she figured they would. She wasn't really sure what she had been expecting when the council announced their plan but it wasn't this. She wondered how things would have gone if they picked another girl. A normal girl. Well, they probably wouldn't have gone so well because any normal girl who knew of Gaara's past would not agree to even meet with him, let alone marry him.

Deep down, Temari knew this wasn't in the name of peace or for Gaara's reputation. She knew exactly what angle their council was playing at when they picked Konoha. She heard Xin mumble and grumble several times that Konoha and Suna's relationship was perfectly fine, there really was no need for an arranged marriage between their villages.

The Konoha native was entirely right. Despite their reputations as obnoxious show offs that didn't quite know how to die, Konoha had produced the most talented shinobi of this current generation with several of them being from clans. And although Suna had their own talented ninja, they didn't have many ninja with Kekkei Genkai. Enter Hyuga Xin.

If Gaara and Xin could ever get along enough to have children _(Temari grimaced),_ the child's bloodline would probably be watered down but they probably still would inherit Xin's bloodline. That was the main goal the council were working towards. They had yet to tell the couple in question, hoping that somehow, they would eventually grow to love each other enough to have kids.

Hopefully.

"How long are you going to try to hide out in the living room, Temari?"

Xin stood with her hip leaning against the door frame. "Who says I was trying to hide?" Temari asked, shifting around on the couch. Xin smiled at her, a genuine smile, Temari believed, and shrugged.

"Dinner is ready. I made curry again so get that ass in gear and come on."

"Every time you speak, you manage to shove a swear in there somewhere. Why is that?" Temari asked in bemusement, following the shorter woman. Xin was grinning impishly as the two women made their way down the hall but shrugged. Using swear words in every sentence was just in her nature. It was as easy as throwing a kunai.

Temari and Xin joined Gaara and Kankuro, clamoring around the kitchen table loudly. They settled down as quietly as they could once Temari shot them all a look. Ume swayed under them, tail coiling and twisting around their legs in an attempt to get attention. The black kitten weakly nipped at Gaara's ankle and he glared down at the black ball of fur. "Oi, don't give her your Kazekage look," Xin lightly smacked the table, diverting his attention. She stuck her tongue out at him and then glanced down at the cat, clicking her tongue twice. "Go eat your own food, Ume."

Ume blinked up at her before mewling softly, casually sashaying over to her food and water bowl. Kankuro watched the cat, clearly disturbed by how easily she followed the order. "That cat is strange," He claimed, unaware that his younger brother had said the exact same thing earlier that day.

Xin rolled her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous, she's just smart. Not strange," She pointed out snidely. Kankuro snorted at her words, shaking his head. No, that cat was just strange. She followed Xin's orders perfectly and would often stare at them like she knew what they were saying.

Temari shook her head. "Moving on," She shot them both a pointed look. Xin and Kankuro bickered like siblings. "How was your day at the office, Gaara?" She asked with a polite smile. Usually Gaara wasn't home this early for them to ask how his day went. Xin was the one who usually knew because of how many times she would pop up at his office.

At the mention of his day, Gaara's shoulders sagged and he suddenly rolled his head into Xin's direction. The tiny female felt his gaze and glanced up through her bangs, a crooked frown across her face. "What?" She asked around the spoonful of curry.

Temari scowled at her horrible table manners and quietly reprimanded her. Xin made a face and swallowed the mouthful of spicy curry. "Because of your mission report, the Council is pissed."

"You said a_ full mission report_. That's what I gave you, a full mission report."

"Yes but did you have to include ripping his arm off and beating him with it?"

"You ripped his arm off? You little monster!"

"I did no such thing. I cut it off with a kunai."

Gaara blinked hard. "Whether you ripped his arm off or cut it off, including things like ripping his arm off and beating him with it was unnecessary and now your right to go on missions is revoked until further notice."

Xin threw her head back, grimacing at his words. "Ughhhhhhh," She groaned loudly, waving his arms like a child. "That is not fair, I was only defending myself, damn!" She continued to whine. "Your council probably gets off by ruining my day, don't they? They want me to be confined to that goddamn office so they can keep an eye on me at all times! Don't say anything when I get cabin fever and start hacking people to bits!"

"Defending yourself is one thing, cutting his arm off and beating him with it before throwing him through a hole '_like the pathetic piece of shit he is'_ is something entirely different, Xin," Gaara reminded her with a dark look, ignoring everything else she had said. She was most likely telling the truth when she said the council wanted to keep a closer eye on her. But really, whose fault is that? Who rips their own teammate's arm off?

"You actually said that in a mission report?"

"He said full report, damn it!"

Temari snorted at that, shaking her head. "They also want you to get a psychological evaluation," Gaara continued to say with an annoyed expression. "I didn't agree to that, I figured having your test results written down on paper somewhere could be used against us somewhere in the future."

Xin grinned widely, leaning towards him. "Well, aren't you so sweet? Trying to protect your crazy wife," She reached up, fingers curling around his jaw. Gaara only rolled her eyes, used to her overly affectionate _(but fake)_ ways. With an almost evil grin, she leaned even further into him and planted a kiss on his lips. To Gaara, he knew that was Xin's way of purposely trying to piss him off and because of that, did no react to the kiss. To Temari and Kankuro, the affectionate action threw them both off guard. What's even worse was the fact that Gaara didn't immediately shove her away. Almost like he was used to kissing the little woman.

Maybe their relationship had escalated into something while they had their backs turned on the two younger shinobi? Maybe there was some truth in their wacky relationship?

Xin leaned in for seemingly another kiss but was shoved away rather violently.

They were all crazy.

* * *

Panda-Chan8: So there wasn't much sexy-time in this chapter but I'll make up for that soon, just for you, since you seem to like those the most! Glad you feel like this story is awesome. Jura is a total fanboy over Sasori, I think it's funny lol.

Rose1991: What a long list of songs for Xin and Gaara! I knew some of the songs but others were new to me and I loved them all, my favorite being Reclusion because of the line _"if a stranger turns up missing, this song is my confession." _that part just sent shivers down my spine because I was listening to it and reading over when Xin kills Shintaro, it really fits her, lol. You have wonderful taste in music! I hope you liked this update and thanks for all the songs, I'm sure I'm going to use the lines from the songs.

Shakilove: I've totally been hooked on a story and stayed up all night reading it knowing damn well I have to get up early for work or something. Now, Gaara isn't afraid of Xin, if it came down to it, he would easily have her beat. He's more so wary of her, knowing that Xin won't kill him physically, she'd do it mentally. That's all :)

Akari: Yes, the pervert in me giggles like a schoolgirl whenever I write steamy little scenes :) lol but yes, Xin is a magnet for misery for all those around her and herself but I think the way she reacts to it is quite funny. I think Poisoned with Love fits them well, you know, I still remember the first time you mentioned that song when I was writing Whispers in The Dark and I was obsessed with it for weeks. I'll have to rewrite that story soon!

Okay, so less reviews last chapter but that's okay because I still get a ton of favorites and follow alerts nearly everyday so clearly I must be doing something right, yes? I love all types of feedback whether its favorites, follows and reviews but reviews do make me the happiest, only cuz I like it when you guys tell me your opinions. I'm a people pleaser. So, I hope life is treating you all kindly, especially with all the destruction going on in different countries around the world. Stay safe my lovelies!


	14. truth be told, I never was yours

"Do you think they have sex?"

Asuna sputtered, nearly choking on her drink as Matsuri's face bloomed in a blush. The eldest of the trio recomposed herself quickly and shot a look down at her younger sister. "I don't think that's any of our business, Hatsune."

The young kunoichi huffed, twisting her arms across her chest. "I bet she forced herself on him, the witch," She scowled at the sanded road. "Don't you think so too, Matsuri? There's no way Gaara-sama would allow her to actually touch him, right?"

The brunette only pouted, uncomfortable with the sudden questions flowing from Hatsune. Why in the world was she even thinking about such a thing? And how did she find it in her to actually voice those questions? Publicly. She ducked her head in embarrassment and tried not to think of Gaara and that woman like that. But in all honestly, she doubted the woman actually forced herself onto the young Kazekage. Xin was a talented ninja but she would not be able to overpower Gaara in such a way.

Unless, of course, she used her medical abilities...

No...Xin was weird but she wasn't evil.

"I don't know, Hatsune," Matsuri answered, fighting to control the blush spreading across her fact. "They _are _engaged, after all. Who knows what happens behind closed doors," She uttered. The brunette thought of the time she had walked in on the couple while Gaara was tending to a wound on Xin's back. The woman sat exposed for anyone to see and seemed pretty confident in herself.

"Have you seen the way that woman dresses? I wouldn't be surprised if she tried to force him!"

Asuna snorted at her sister's words, the Hospital coming into view. "She's from the Fire Country, Hatsune. The majority of the kunoichi from Konoha tend to dress that way to stave off the heat. Besides, if I had her body, I think I'd want to show it off too. Did you see her abs?"

"Her legs are nice for a short woman."

The three women paused to nod, admiring the foreign woman's fit body. "Well, nice body or not, she doesn't have to go around dressed like that," Hatsune sniffed primly as they entered the Hospital. "She just shoves her breasts in everyone's face," She folded her arms across her own breasts. It's not like she was jealous or anything like that. She just had decency.

"I don't think she means to. They are kind of hard to hide," Asuna commented offhandedly as she filled out information at the front desk. "The food they feed the girls in Konoha must be vastly different from our regular diets. I wonder if her back hurts," She wondered absently, ignoring her younger sister roll her eyes. That really wasn't the point she was trying to make.

"Isn't their Hokage famous for her figure?"

Asuna only nodded as the woman at the front desk motioned for her to head on to Xin's office. She wasn't sure why her younger sister and Matsuri insisted on accompanying her to her checkup with Xin. She figured it was simply because Xin was her doctor, anyone else and they probably wouldn't have cared. Hatsune seemed to let her sudden interest of the couple's sex life and Xin's body go as they neared her office. They could hear Xin's muffled voice on the side other side of the door but only figured she was talking to Ukyo, Ume or maybe even Jura. He tended to hang around Xin a lot.

Asuna politely knocked on the door but when it didn't open immediately, Hatsune rudely pushed the door open, ignoring the older blonde's scolding. However, the three women stopped before they could step foot into the office, eyes widened. Xin stood over their Kazekage, a rather blank look on her face as her hands pressed against his naked chest. Gaara looked up, not wearing any form of emotion on his face either. He was leaning against the edge of her desk while she stood in between his legs, hands still pressed against his chest.

"Excuse us!" Asuna squeaked out, slamming the door shut.

...That didn't look forced to her.

* * *

_Xin's P.O.V_

"What do you think that was about?"

Gaara and I hadn't moved an inch since Asuna slammed the door. She looked panicked, like she was witnessing something she had no business witnessing. She moved pretty quick too, I barely even noticed Hatsune and Matsuri standing behind her. Gaara only shrugged, nearly causing my hands to slip from his chest. "I don't know but are we finished? I still have work to get back to," He pointed out with a dry drip to his tone. I turned away from the door to look down at him, frowning.

Truth be told, I'd been finished with his medical examination for awhile now. I just needed an excuse to touch him. As much as I hated him, he had the body of a God and I just had to feel on him. Was his body even real? How did he manage to be as muscular as he is when he's a long-ranged fighter that barely even moves around during a fight? How is this even possible?

"Almost," I practically purred, hands running down to skim across the span of his abs. He had abs for God's sake! How? I haven't even seen him train for as long as I've been here. He should not be this fit, it just wasn't fair. All of the sit ups I had to do to maintain my stomach? This was just unfair. And don't even get me started about the V-shape that dipped past his hemline. As much as I wanted to run my fingers over that, I held off. Touching his chest and stomach was one thing but caressing that close to his hemline was borderline molestation.

"I'm honestly surprised. Your body should be much weaker since you suck at taking care of it. But everything seems to be in order," I managed to say, eyes flickering to his face. Since he was slouching against my desk, I stood over him and was able to look down into his face for once.

He didn't say anything although I'm pretty sure there was a flicker of amusement in his pretty eyes. "Is that why you keep running your hands up and down my chest?" He asked with the threat of a smirk breaking across his face.

I yanked my hands away, surprised that he was catching on. "Oh, please," I scoffed, forcing my hands to my sides. "I'm only doing my job. Don't flatter yourself," I shook my head with a frown. I heard the voice in my head teasing me, calling me a pervert. Gaara only nodded before standing to his full height, causing me to back off. Before I could completely retreat, he caught me by my upper arms. He leaned in a little too close for comfort and I leaned further away with a frown.

His hands slid down my arms, falling to my hips before trailing their way up my torso. I tried to control my flush, cursing myself for wearing a crop top today. "Uh," I tried to pull away in vain but was halted by one of his hands curling around my side. "You seem to be in perfect health, as odd as that may be. You can, uh, stop rubbing my stomach for one, go back to the office."

Gaara blatantly ignored my suggestion, rubbing his thumb into the scar peeking out from underneath my shirt. I huffed when his hand ran down my stomach, poking at my abs. "Gaara, I still have other appointments," I huffed again and pulled a little harder.

He let me go, seemingly satisfied with his behavior. I rolled my eyes and reached behind him to snatch his shirt up. I shoved the black material at him, pressing it to his chest. I pursed my lips, feeling the hard muscles bunched up underneath and quickly drew my hand away. He eyed me, probably trying to figure out why I was being such a weirdo at the moment but brushed if off with a small shrug. I almost visibly pouted when he twisted and pulled the black shirt off, cutting off my view of his surprisingly fantastic chest.

"See you later," I muttered as he left. He only paused to wave over his shoulder before he was gone. I heard nervous chatter outside of the door and then remembered Asuna was probably still waiting to be seen. Nearly slapping my head, I quickly went for the door. I peeked out just in time to see the three women watch Gaara leave. I cleared my throat. "Hello, hi," I waved to them, watching in amusement as they scrambled around to face me. "Matsuri, Hatsune, I wasn't expecting you two today. Is everything okay?" I tried to ask as politely as I could.

Hatsune gave me a particular dirty look. "No, my Lady, everything is fine," Matsuri stated once she realized Hatsune wouldn't answer. "We just thought it would be nice to keep Asuna company on her way here."

"Oh. Well, alright. Come on in," I stepped back into the office. The three followed my invitation easily and I patiently waited for Hatsune to make some sort of snide comment involving Gaara. About twenty minutes into the check up, I feel my patience thin. Sighing heavily, I tried to busy myself with writing down her blood-work. "Is there something I can help you with, Hatsune?" I drawled absently, fed up with her hard staring.

Hatsune stiffened and then pulled at her hair with puckered lips. She glanced at Matsuri and then at Asuna, as if asking with her eyes if she should really open her mouth. I tapped my pen against the desk twice, showing my impatience.

"Do you and Kazekage-sama have sex?"

Asuna almost spurted her drink all over the side of my face but managed to keep her mouth close, nearly choking on the drink instead. She coughed and gagged and I absently reached over to whack her on the back. "Hatsune!" She snapped once she got her breathing under control. "I told you that was none of our business! You don't just ask someone that, you're not even friends with her like you are with Matsuri. That's rude!" Asuna glared dangerously at her younger sister. Well, she certaintly had the 'Mom' look and glare down.

I only looked in between them before a light bulb seemed to go off above my head. "Wait," I pursed my lips and tapped the pen again. "You girls discussed whether Gaara and I...have a sex life?" I tilted my head to the side, forehead wrinkled in question.

Asuna's glare didn't falter and Hatsune floundered under her sister's heated gaze before looking at me. "Uh," Matsuri tried to mediate the situation and I tore my eyes away from Hatsune to glance at her, silently warning her not to get in the middle of a sister's spat.

Four minutes awkwardly went by before I broke the silent tension with a nervous giggle. "We don't have sex," I said while clearing my throat. I figured there had to be some truth to this whole shit-show. I was kind of tired with keeping up with all the lies we tended to spout out about our relationship. A truth here or there wouldn't hurt anyone. Least, I didn't think it would.

"But you've been dating for two years now..." Matsuri mumbled offhandedly.

My eyes swiveled over to her, eyebrow quirked. "My family raised me very strictly," I stated simply, which was also the truth. Well, more so my Grandmother than anyone else in my family and Lena. Both of them had drilled it into my head that my body could be made into a weapon. Use your sex appeal. Pleasure could be set aside. Hold on to your virginity, auction it off, sell it. Use it to your advantage. Men loved virgins. Lena had been a better teacher than my Grandmother, obviously.

"Wait, so you're still a virgin?" Hatsune blurted out with wide eyes. Asuna's glare seemed to darken and I even shifted nervously under her sisterly gaze. Again I puckered my lips and shrugged.

"Yes," I enunciated it slowly like I was talking to a child. "But as missions called for it, I have done sexual things to use as an advantage," I shrugged at this. It wasn't anything to be embarrassed over. We're kunoichi, if we're going to be taught specifically how to use sexuality as a weapon, we can't shy away from it when the time called for it.

Matsuri and Hatsune flushed heavily at my toneless explanation. Asuna was massaging her temples at this point, probably 100 percent done with our shit. Again, I pursed my lips before cracking a smile. "I enjoy our talks, ladies. This is really something."

_End P.O.V_

* * *

Gaara glanced up in disinterest, expecting Xin to come barging into his office to rant and rave about something or the other. Instead, Matsuri timidly made her way into the office. She rolled her lips and smiled slowly. "Good afternoon, Gaara-sama."

"Hello, Matsuri. Is something wrong?" He asked in curiosity. He didn't have any missions lined up for her at the moment and hadn't called her. Matsuri came to a stop in front of her former teacher, frowning in thought.

"No, nothing is wrong. I just...have a question, is all."

Gaara nodded slowly, folding his hands and resting his chin on the bridge his fingers created. "And would this question involve Xin?" Gaara asked with a dry sense of humor leaking off of the words. Matsuri looked almost panicked before straightening and then slowly nodded, smiling almost sheepishly.

"It's just that...I was wondering...what is it about Xin-san that made you want to marry her?"

Well. That was pretty bold of her. Matsuri usually wasn't this bold to begin with and he wondered what the hell Xin had done to her this time. "Did she do something weird to you?" He asked, already ready to apologize for any of Xin's antics. That woman constantly toed a line that shouldn't crossed.

"What? Oh, no, no! She didn't do anything weird—"

"But she has done something."

Matsuri shook her head. "No, no. Seriously, Xin-san hasn't really done anything. Lately, as least," Matsuri's smile was a little forced. Truthfully Xin honestly hadn't done anything as of late. "It's just...I was wondering...what is it that you like about her?"

They were opposites in every way, besides being former psycho killers. Well, Xin hadn't been reformed yet but they were working on trying to better her and appreciate life. Baby steps, baby steps he reasoned. "She's funny," He said after a long pause. "Sometimes it's a little dark and twisted but she knows it and she'll apologize if her jokes offends anyone. She puts on a tough front but she's caring, doesn't want to admit it but she has a big heart. Perhaps it was just how she was brought up."

The brunette nodded along to the words. "And our pasts...they're...not exactly the same but she has accepted what I've done and I've accepted what she's done. There is..." Gaara paused, wondering exactly what was coming out of his mouth and why he couldn't stop the flow. "We have an understanding between us and no one else can quite grasp that."

They were just two individuals with shitty childhoods that morphed them into monsters. And because of that, they were stuck with one another. And even if they didn't particularly like each other, they understood one another. The only difference between them at this point was that Gaara had pulled himself out of the darkness. Xin was drowning in the darkness but she was pulling herself out. Slowly but surely, she was crawling out of it. She probably didn't want to admit that there was some shred of goodness in her and that it was slowly spreading though. She was convinced that she was this horrible person. He didn't quite see that. Crazy, she was but she wasn't horrible.

"She's a little weird and sometimes her boldness is annoying and I'm pretty sure she doesn't know when to stop talking but she's a good person, even if she doesn't think so."

The smile across Matsuri's face was genuine this time. There was some sadness tinted into the smile but Matsuri found herself not hating Xin like she thought she should have. She didn't feel like Hatsune, who was vocal with her dislike towards the Konoha native. She felt some sort of sadness that she didn't know Gaara quite like Xin knew him. But it was okay.

The brunette nodded. "She's a little...strange," She said after a pause, trying to figure out the best way to describe Xin. "But I think she's good for you. You're a little different with her around but it's a good kind of different. You seem...easier to approach now, all of a sudden. It's good. Good for you and Suna, I think."

There was some amusement in Gaara's eyes as the Kazekage melted away into her former Sensei. "Are you giving me your blessing to marry Xin?"

Matsuri's smile morphed into an impish grin. "Yes, I think it's time that I give it. As much as I don't want to like her with you, I do," She nodded her head, laughing a little. Of course it was a little heartbreaking to give her love up. She would always admire Gaara and maybe even have feelings for him but she knew there was no point to fight Xin over him. It would be an uphill battle that she would not win.

The truth is, she wasn't meant for Gaara and he wasn't meant for her. He'd helped her out during a dark time in her life and taught her many things but that's all he was there for. He wasn't meant to sweep her off of her feet like she had hoped and wished for for the last two years.

He was her girlhood crush but he was Xin's love.

There was just no way they could be together and although that realization did hurt, she was okay with it.

She was okay with letting him go.

* * *

"Hey, my favorite pain in the ass!"

Gaara almost groaned. It had only been an hour or two after Matsuri took her leave. He didn't quite know what their conversation proved but she seemed to feel better about something. She seemed almost relieved. He wasn't sure why but he thought not to question it. Women were fickle beings. It was rather quiet in his office when it was shattered by none other than Xin. She swept into the office with a big smile. "Oh, God," He muttered into his palm. Xin only grinned even wider. "Why are you here?"

"Because I love you," She cocked her head to the side. "Why else?" She held up her hand and jostled the takeout bag. Xin shucked her sandals off and clambered onto his desk, folding her legs underneath her. Setting the bag down next to her hip, she eyed him with a peculiar look.

"What?"

"I have a question."

The redhead cocked his head to the side, feeling a sense of deja vu. "The council wanted you to get married so that you seemed more humane, right?" Xin began to say, untying the plastic bag. She dug through the bag and produced a carton of soba noodles with shrimp. She didn't give him the carton yet, wanting him to answer her first.

"Do I really have to answer a question you already know the answer to?"

"Can you not be a smartass for once and just answer the question?"

"Are you really asking _me _not to be a smartass?"

"_Gaara." _

He sighed heavily but nodded. "Yes, we've been over this a thousand times. Yes, the council wanted us to get married because they figured my image could use a wife," He stated shortly. Pleased with his answer, she slid the carton of noodles towards him. He gave her a dirty look for withholding food from him. She's the one always nagging that he should eat more.

"Well, I was wondering why the hell they didn't just pick Matsuri. I mean, yeah, I get that they wanted the marriage to be realistic and all but couldn't you have just said you were dating her in secret like you were dating me? I mean, she wouldn't have to act like she likes you because she's already head over heels in love with you," Xin was rambling and he figured to just let her go.

"And you, well, you like her enough, right? Clearly more than you like me so you could have found it in you to fall in love with her as well, right? You wouldn't be so miserable with her as you are with me. Plus I doubt there would be any of your villagers trying to kill her because she's Konoha trash, right? Maybe some of the fan girls might be jealous but they'd probably be cheering her on as well."

Gaara seriously pondered how Xin managed to say so much in one or two breaths. She didn't even look winded. Was it actually possible to talk someone to death? He was sure Xin could manage that. "Matsuri was mentioned before they decided to go to Konoha," Gaara finally admitted when he realized she was done talking for the time being. "And they used those same reasoning. But councilwoman Mai brought up a good point that ruined her chances."

Xin's eyebrow quirked but she said nothing, slurping the noodles quietly and waiting for him to continue. "Matsuri is a pacifist."

"A _what?" _

Gaara sighed, like he was dealing with a child. "A pacifist. A person who—"

"No, no, you imbecile. I know what a pacifist is, jeez."

"Then why the fuck would you say what?"

"Ooh, cursing are we? You know I think it's very attractive when you swear."

"Xin that is not the point."

"No, the point is what kind of fuckin' ninja decides to be a pacifist? Does she know what our jobs entitles us to do? We kill. We go to war for our villages, for our countries and she decides to be a pacifist? What, does she try to talk enemies out of their crimes with promises of redemption?"

"For fuck's sake, if you would shut the damn hole in your face and just let me finish," He snapped at her, rubbing his forehead. Xin huffed dramatically but shoveled more noodles into her mouth, signifying for him to continue. "She witnessed her parents being murdered and was traumatized by it and swore not to pick up a weapon. I trained her and eventually showed her that weapons don't just kill. They protect. Depending on how she uses it. She's very adept now with her weapon and is a wonderful—" He paused to shoot her a look. "and talented kunoichi despite her beliefs."

Xin snorted into her noodles and stabbed at a shrimp, not looking up at him. "Wonderful and talented kunoichi my ass," She grumbled, staring down at her food. "Kay, so what makes her not perfect for you?" She continued to grumble into her foot. She almost resembled a child. Gaara drummed his fingertips against the desktop next to Xin's foot. He had to wonder, what was with her and Matsuri today? What was up with all these questions about one another?

"I would taint her."

"What?"

Gaara tried not to sigh heavily. There were other things he could be attending to instead of answering Xin's meaningless questions. Even if she did know why they didn't pick Matsuri, what would it change?

"When you heard about my past, how did you react?"

Xin chewed thoughtfully, trying to remember when her Grandmother fully explained all of Gaara's crimes. She wasn't sure if Suna's council had told her Grandmother but the old woman had explained in full detail about the things he'd done in his past. Not looking at him, she shrugged. "That's what I did," She stated after realizing he was looking for a verbal answer. "I didn't say anything. There was nothing to say, so I just shrugged."

"Why did you shrug it off?"

Xin pursed her lips in thought. "What else was I supposed to say? You've killed some ninjas because of the beast inside of you? I've killed ninjas simply because I had to. I've killed..." Xin paused, a far off look in her eyes. "I've killed. I've killed just because I could. So how's it look for me to judge you?"

"Exactly," Gaara finally started to eat. "You've said it before, we're perfect for one another. Matsuri, she's a good girl and that's why it wouldn't have worked. She's always been a good girl, there was never a time where she had to change. She accepted the person I worked to become, not the person I was."

"You didn't give her a chance."

"If she was given the chance and accepted, I would have eventually ruined her."

"How can you be so sure?"

"When the Shukaku resurfaced, what did you do?"

"I panicked."

"And?"

"Punched him in the face. Well. You. I swung."

Gaara seemed like he was about to laugh and Xin leaned in, anticipating it. She visibly pouted when he restrained himself from laughing at her words. The last thing he'd been expecting when the Shukaku managed to break through was Xin actually punching him. She constantly threatened him but never actually acted on her words so when she finally did punch him, it was a severe shock to his system.

"I don't think Matsuri or any of my villagers would think to punch me in the face if the Shukaku resurfaced before them, Xin. I think most of them probably would flee, which is the logical thing to do."

"Well, it's not. I panicked, remember? I wasn't thinking logically."

"Even if you were, you would have fled?"

"...Probably not."

She looked sheepish but they both knew that if she hadn't panicked, she still wouldn't have ran. If she hadn't punched him, she probably would've screeched at the Shukaku until he just let Gaara take over again. He swallowed a mouthful of shrimp before glancing up at her. "You and I," He paused again with a thoughtful look. "We may not love one another or even like each other but we were meant to meet and be together. Whether we like it or not, no one understands you like I do and no one understands me quite like you do. Or, understands my past."

Xin smirked with low eyes, leaning closer to him. "Right. _Your past_. I understand your _past _perfectly," She hummed and sat back. He could see the amusement in her eyes and decided not to get into that sort of conversation at the moment. "Ah, shit. I forgot to bring drinks. You know Asuna almost spit her tea out on me today?"

"What'd you do to her in the first place?"

Xin scoffed, offended. "What could I possibly do to deserve being spit on? I didn't do anything. It was her loudmouth sister that asked a question that was so fuckin' inappropriate in the first place. I thought Hatsune would burst into a ball of flames from the look Asuna was giving her."

"I'm sure you would just watch her burn."

"Fuck yeah I would, I wouldn't waste my coffee to put her out."

Gaara snorted and shook his head before prompting her to continue her story. "Hatsune asked about our sex life," She stated, waiting for his reaction. She heard a choke and then a rough cough when she looked up with a grin. Leaning over, she slapped him on the back much like she slapped Asuna earlier.

A grin light up her face when his coughing died down. "Sex life?" He managed in a strained voice. If she looked close enough, she could see a blush creeping up the back of his neck. _'How cute,' _she thought once he finally got himself settled.

"Yep. I guess she wanted to know if you ever bent me over this desk before," She hummed casually, watching the blush make its' way to the tips of his ears. "I'm sure she and Matsuri have probably fantasied over the same thing many times before. Although now that I think about it, it's pretty hot to be fucked over someone's desk, don't you think? Just think, oh, if someone were to walk in on that? Wooow. You know we should—"

She didn't get to finish when sand drilled into her side, throwing her off of the desk. "My noodles!" She cried in anguish, not seeing the sand catch her carton of soba noodles. Laying in a heap on the floor, Xin broke down into loud giggles. "Oh, come on! I was only joking! That was so unneeded."

"You're a pervert."

* * *

_Xin's P.O.V_

It was only some days later when I was being called into Gaara's office once more. I tried to think of all the reasons why he could be calling me into his office but I was coming up short. It's not like I had any missions lined up since they've been revoked until who knows how long. '_**Maybe he'll bend you over the desk like you wanted.' **_

I rolled my eyes. _"Oh, please. I was just joking. I'd kick the shit out of Gaara if he tried anything like that."_

"_**There's always some truth in every joke." **_

"_You just want to be fucked by a former serial killer."  
_

"_**And you don't?" **_

Again, I rolled my eyes and banished the voice into the darkest corner of my mind, locking it away until it managed to break free like it always did. I heard a mewl from the top of my head. "Ume, you're going to shed your fur in my hair," I uttered blandly just as I arrived at the tower. I slipped in and thought of taking my sandals off but decided not before making my way up to Gaara's office. Ume only mewled again and since I didn't order off to get off my head, she stayed put. Being so small, I didn't see the harm in letting her stay up there. So long as she behaved.

Making it to the landing, I approached his office, feeling three other Chakra signatures in there along with Gaara's signature. I frowned and titled my head to the side, almost sliding Ume off of my head. "Ah, my bad," I apologized to her before approaching the door. I knocked on the doors and waited until I heard the okay to come in. Stepping into the office, I was surprised to see the three signatures belonged to Konoha shinobi. I blinked owlishly before recognizing the only one not decked out in full black. "Shikamaru!"

They all glanced at me but stopped, their gazes lifting to my head. Ume meowed loudly as the attention fell on her. I clicked my tongue twice. "Get down, Ume," I ordered, raising my hands. The pressure vanished as the little fur ball landed in my hands. I crouched low enough and let her jump to the floor.

"Never took you for a cat person," Shikamaru uttered in his signature lazy drawl. I only grinned. "Wasn't that always Haruka's thing?" He asked as I swayed past him to lean against the desk.

"Yeah. She has eyes like her so I figured that was a sign to take her in," I shrugged one shoulder and then glanced to the two shinobi decked out in black. "What's with the interrogation team? You here to interrogate someone?" I jutted my chin towards them, eyebrow quirked.

Shikamaru sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Got some questions for you, Xin," He stated simply. Both of my eyebrows quirked at this, slightly confused. I glanced towards Gaara but he was watching the two other shinobi with an almost predatory like gaze.

"Me? Must be some serious shit if Tsunade sent these two with you."

Shikamaru shrugged one shoulder. "Is there somewhere we could speak to you in private?" one of the shinobi interjected before Shikamaru could say anything else. I glanced at him but couldn't be bothered to remember either of their names. Again, I glanced towards Gaara.

He finally looked at me and the predatory expression melted away. "Are you comfortable with it?" He asked finally. I only tapped my finger against the desk, frowning softly before shrugging and pushing off the desk.

"One door down," I stated simply, leaning them out of the office. I heard the familiar sound of sand swirling as we left the office and figured Gaara would station Suna shinobi outside of the door. How sweet.

I dropped down into the chair and watched as the shorter teammate eased the door close behind them. I shucked off my sandals and tapped my foot against the floor. Shikamaru shoved his hands into his pockets and stood by the window. I chuckled when he pulled one hand out of his pocket, armed with a cigarette. "So," I puckered my lips together. "What's this about?"

Shikamaru's sharp eyes found his teammates before rolling into my direction. "You know Konoha has many safe-houses scattered through the forest. We have one that's particularly close to the borderline."

"Mm."

"All that's left of that safe house is now rubble."

"That it is."

"Several of the items that was stowed away are currently missing."

Head titled to the side, I blinked at Shikamaru before glancing at the other two. I knew exactly why they were here but they wouldn't be needed. Not unless they wanted me to crack their skulls against the table separating us. "Shikamaru, are you accusing me of raiding that base and blowing it up?" I asked with a twinkle of amusement in my eyes. Shikamaru took notice of my expression and shrugged, entirely relaxed.

"I'm only stating facts."

"How would you even know to ask me questions about that base?"

"Your DNA along with two other Shinobi were found in the aftermath."

"The forensics teams must be real talented to find my DNA among all that rubble."

"Xin."

I smiled dryly and folded my arms. "Not that it's any of Konoha's business—"

The taller shinobi cut me off rudely. "It is _Konoha's _business because _Konoha's _base was destroyed and now several of _Konoha's _possessions are missing," He growled gruffly, giving me the dirtiest look I'd seen since...I killed Oda. Ah, memories. Good, fun memories. Good times, good times.

"Watch your tone," I uttered simply. "Half of that shit in there was stolen goods to begin with either way and what use would I have with _stolen_ goods?" I rolled my eyes and tapped my foot a little harder. I felt Shikamaru's sharp gaze on me but he did nothing but light his cigarette up. Shikamaru was too relaxed and I knew it was pissing his teammates off. I should have been treated differently. He shouldn't be relaxed at all. I had to wonder why Shikamaru had been sent in the first place.

"Then what were you doing in there?"

I let out a long frustrated sigh. "If you didn't fuckin' interrupt me," I shot him a look that clearly told him to shut the fuck up. "One of Suna's scrolls went missing, it was stowed away in that base for whatever reason, I don't know, so I went there and got it," I explained shortly. Neither shinobi liked my short explanation. Did I care? Seriously, did I care? Absolutely not.

"That doesn't explain how the base was reduced to rubble."

I shrugged one shoulder. "There was a confrontation, an explosion and the base was caught in the crossfire. That's about it. I didn't take a damn thing out of there except Suna's property."

The room was relatively quiet for five minutes. They were eyeing me like a fiend. Shikamaru remained unaffected, puffing away at his cigarette. I glanced at him with an amused expression. "Don't believe me? Would you like to perform a strip search? Perhaps raid some houses?" I asked with an impish grin. The taller shinobi scowled so hard but I'm pretty sure that's it. "Well, boys, that's all she wrote," I stated simply while standing up. I gathered my sandals and eased around the table. "You know the way out," I grinned at the two shinobi before leaving to return to Gaara's office.

I smiled at the two Suna shinobi standing guard outside of the door. "You may leave. Thank you very much," I bowed my head to them in respect before walking down to the office to peek in. "We'll talk about it later," I said to him simply before clicking my tongue to call Ume. Gaara grunted, quietly agreeing with me. I was kind of surprised he didn't drag me back in there to demand information out of me. I smiled at him and left, bouncing down the stairs. I stepped out under the burning sun and hissed when the ground burned my feet.

"Shit, shit. Fuck, fuck," I hissed and cursed, fumbling to put my sandals back on. "Motherfucking sand and sun. This goddamn Sandy village," I grumbled under my breath, nearly falling over to put my sandals back on.

"Same bad habit of walking around without your sandals on?"

I nearly screamed bloody murder and almost punched Shikamaru's head off of his damn shoulders. "Shikamaru!" I scowled at him and shoved at his shoulder angrily. "Have you lost your mind? Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"...I didn't. I've been standing here the entire time."

"...Oh."

Shikamaru laughed dryly as I continued to slip my sandals on. "So," I uttered once I was standing upright. Ume clawed her way up my side, settling on my shoulder. "Where's dumb and dumber?"

"They went back to our hotel."

"Oh? You're not leaving yet?"

Shikamaru shook his head and I leaned against the wall next to him. He silently offered his pack of cigarettes to me. I eyed the pack before guiltily taking one cigarette. "Last time I checked, you kicked this habit," I uttered when he light it up for me.

Shikamaru shrugged. "Thought you did as well."

I picked up smoking right around the time my team died. I don't know what exactly prompted me to start smoking but it just happened one day. I managed to kick the habit a couple of months before leaving for Suna. I figured Shikamaru had started to smoke due to Asuma's influence, much to his Mother's anger. I'm pretty sure she managed to force him to stop smoking but clearly I'd been wrong since this had to be his second cigarette.

"I guess a little relapse wouldn't hurt," I shrugged one shoulder and took one long drag, feeling my shoulders sag. I exhaled, blowing the smoke out of my nose and mouth. Disgusting as the habit may be, it felt good as hell. Not as good as snapping someone's neck or slamming a face into a wall but it did its' job. "You guys really thought I stole from Konoha's stolen goods?" I asked after a moment of just being in each other's company.

We were never best friends back in Konoha but we got along pretty well. Shikamaru was easy to be around. He didn't expect much out of you. Didn't even expect a conversation half the time. I usually hung around him after coming home from a bad mission. He was the only one in our age group that wouldn't chew my head off about smoking at our age. Smoking would calm my nerves a lot. He never really asked me about the missions. Just silently offered me a cigarette and we'd lay in the grass until Ino came screeching her head off for him.

Shikamaru snorted. "You think any of us really cared? The council just figured Suna might be using you to steal secrets from us and wanted something done about it, thinking you guys stole from us."

"They really thought I would steal from Konoha for Suna?"

"People do crazy things when they're in love."

This time I snorted. "That was beyond corny, Shika," I laughed and took another drag. "Like Gaara could convince me to steal from Konoha. I don't even think Gaara would want to steal from Konoha in the first place. He and Naruto are good friends and everything," I rolled my eyes. Gaara valued his friendship with Naruto and I doubt he would do anything to tarnish their friendship. As long as Gaara was in charge, Konoha would always be an ally.

"Ino's been forcing me to watch a lot of those romantic films her and Sakura are so fond of," He defended his corny reasoning for me actually stealing in the name of love. I laughed again and shook my head. "Oh, your sisters wanted me to tell you they're hoping you're doing okay," Shikamaru suddenly stated, catching me off guard. I blinked and rolled the cigarette between my fingers. "Said you haven't really been writing to them or anything and they're worried about you. Your Mother as well."

"Huh," I tapped my other fingers against the wall. "I haven't had the time to write them," I uttered finally, knowing that was a bold-faced lie. I mean, yes, I was busy with working at the hospital and mentoring Ukyo and everything but I just pushed my family to the back of my head. My sisters were good girls and I treated them poorly ever since I joined the ANBU. I was treating them even worse now that I was a village away. "I'll send them some letters soon. Could you tell them I'm doing well and that I miss them, if it's not too troublesome," I grinned at him and he elbowed my side.

He opened his mouth, probably to lazily insult me when there was a shout. "Are you actually smoking!?"

Quirking my eyebrow, I leaned forward to peek around his body to see Temari giving him the third degree. When she noticed me, she growled and approached us to snatch the cigarettes out of our hands. "Oh, hell," Shikamaru grumbled under his breath. I blinked, slightly confused that she managed to snatch both of our cigarettes without burning herself.

She threw the cigarettes to the ground before violently stomping them out. "Jesus Christ, Temari," I placed my hand on my hip, mourning my first cigarette in months. "It's a cigarette, not a damn bomb. Was that really needed?"

Temari shot me a positively evil look and I shrank away. "Neither of you should be smoking to begin with," She scowled harshly, looking in between us. "You're a medical ninja, how would people react if they saw you smoking. It's a bad look," She reprimanded me.

"Do I look like I give a shit what people think..?" I muttered out the side of my mouth. Standing so close, Shikamaru snorted in humor. I felt like we were children again, being scolded for skipping class or pulling a prank.

Temari looked like she was ready to smack the living shit out of me. "Don't do it again," She hissed at me. I made a show of rolling me eyes but nodded, fearing she really would smack the shit out of me. I'd seen her smack Kankuro many times and her slaps were something to be feared. Satisfied by my submission, she looked towards Shikamaru. She rolled her lips apprehensively before letting out a slow sigh. "Come on," Temari suddenly smiled and I nearly lost my shit.

"Wait...wait. Where the fuck are you two going? Oh, holy shit, are you two going on a date or something? Are you guys dating? Oh my God, are you guys about to pull something?"

Temari did slap me this time. Hard.

"Shut up, Xin. We're not going on a date!'

I rubbed my head and resisted the urge to slap her back. "Then what the hell is going on?" I growled at her. Temari was abusive and psychotic. Not me. "You know what, never-mind. Whatever you guys are doing is not worth getting slapped again," I shook my head and held up my hand. "I'll see you at home, Temari. And, ah, Shikamaru, it was good to see you again. Take care and for the love of God, do not upset her."

Shikamaru shoved his hands into his pockets but nodded his head, a small smile tugging at his lips. What's up with boys always giving that little smile? The only one I've ever seen grin on a full on basis was probably Naruto. Oh and Lee! All the rest of them? They did that stupid half smile.

Wait, what was I supposed to be doing?

Oh shit, I still had three more appointments down at the hospital.

* * *

"Well, this is unexpected."

"Wow, using big words? I'm so proud of you, Kankuro."

The same evening I was gathered in the kitchen with two of the three sand siblings. And having only two of them home for dinner was a pretty normal thing. Except it was usually Kankuro and Temari joining me for dinner. Not Kankuro and Gaara. "Where's Temari?" He asked, ignoring my sarcastic remark.

"If I had to guess, probably still out with Shikamaru."

Both brothers made a face as I set the table up. "Oh, no guys, don't help me or anything. Please, don't get up," I shot them a dirty look. Kankuro looked sheepish but Gaara remained unaffected. I almost kicked him while sitting down but decided not to. God, I did everything around this place. They could have at least help set the table. Spoiled bastards.

"Why would she go out with that lazy ass in the first place..." Kankuro grumbled around a mouthful of chicken. I scowled in disgust and jabbed at his side. He let out a strange whine that even had Gaara looking up at him in confusion. He sounded like a dying ostrich or something.

"Eh," I shrugged one shoulder. "I ship it," I said after a pause. "Shikamaru needs a bossy woman and Temari needs someone that'll get her to just relax. You know, stop and smell the flowers—er...cacti? Stop and smell the cacti? Do cacti actually bloom? Does anything bloom out in the desert?"

"That's literally beyond the point."

"Nu-uh..."

Kankuro sighed loudly before we could get into senseless bickering. "Either way, he better watch what he does," He grumbled, poking at his food dejectedly. I almost smiled at him, was he actually worried about his older sister? Maybe he didn't want her to get her heart broken? Yeah, like Shikamaru had the balls to break Temari's heart. Temari would probably just...break his body if he tried to shit on her like that. I snorted to myself, God, they were stuck with one another. Huh, who would have thought Shikamaru and I would ever be in laws? Interesting.

"Anyway," Gaara spoke up. "About today?"

"Today? Oh! You wanna know how the interrogation went?"

"Interrogation? You were interrogated today?"

"I'd hardly call it that. They didn't even try to threaten me. I would've at least broken someone's hand but all they did was give me dirty looks. Except for Shikamaru. But the other two? They were trying to be intimidating but I just wasn't buying it."

"Why would you have broken someone's hand...?"

"Clearly you've never had to interrogate anyone."

"Xin..."

"Oh, right!" I took a sip of water. Drinking coffee when I wasn't working was officially banned. Ugh. "Well, see, they wanted to know what happened to their safe house, you know the one with Suna's forbidden scroll? They traced it back to us from DNA samples and wanted to know the whereabouts of the missing hoard."

"They thought we stole from Konoha?"

"Well, technically, all that shit in there was stolen to begin with. But whatever, that's besides the point I guess. Anyway, since my DNA was found, Konoha figured we were scheming against them, like I was being used to feed you guys information and everything," I rolled my eyes, briefly glancing towards Ume. "Huh. Probably shouldn't have mentioned that. I don't even think that should've been mentioned to me."

"I'm assuming Shikamaru told you that last part while you were standing outside of the tower?" Gaara asked casually. I only blinked at him, frowning softly. He knew that we were standing out there? Ah, maybe he felt our chakra.

I eyed him apprehensively before shrugging one of my shoulders. "Yep, seeing as how he told me after his idiotic team left, I have no business knowing that information. But you know, either way, I'm not going to do anything with it."

"What did you tell them?"

"The truth. Suna's property was stolen and dropped off at their safe house, why it was there, I don't know. I went and got it, that's it. I didn't touch shit else in there, didn't need to. I told them there was a confrontation and an explosion and that the base was caught in that explosion."

The table was quiet for several seconds. "You don't think Konoha is actually plotting something, do you?" Kankuro asked after a long pause. This prompted me to really think that notion over. Konoha couldn't possibly be planning a coup...not after handing me over to Suna in the first place. Then again, we never figured Suna would invade Konoha during the Chunin exams along with Oto all those years ago...

"Nah," I said finally. "I don't think Tsunade would allow something like that."

Gaara only hummed in thought but said nothing more about the subject. For one reason or another, the conversation left me uneasy. Things had been going too...well...easy lately. The uprising against Gaara had been quiet since I took care of Shintaro and ever since then, I've begun to relax. My senses were dulled, I was too comfortable. I'm not saying Konoha is plotting against Suna but something would be going down soon. Every time everything lapsed into a time of peace, something came along to fuck things up. And if I didn't get my shit together, it would come back to bite me in the ass.

* * *

The very next morning I stumbled my way down to the bathroom, rubbing sleep from my eyes. I yawned loudly, God, my sleeping patterns were just all types of fucked up. I rubbed harder at my eyes, trying to get the sleep out of my face. Temari's door swung open and I expected her to greet me but when I heard nothing, I opened my eyes and glanced her way. Only to have my jaw drop. "Morning Xin," Shikamaru greeted me just as sleepily as me.

My eyes widened almost comically. "Oh my God," I said instead of greeting him. I heard Kankuro's doorknob jiggle and Gaara at the foot of the stairs. "Oh, for fuck's sake," I hissed and literally kicked him back into Temari's room. Shikamaru grunted in surprise but fell away easily as I jumped forward to yank her door shut.

"Oi," Kankuro greeted tiredly. I looked at him with wide eyes just as Gaara came to the top of the stairs. Did either of them just see that? Was this the day that Gaara snapped? Would he murder Shikamaru? It would be totally hot but it was Shikamaru and he was a good guy. If either of them did see Shikamaru coming from their sister's room, I'd have to fight them off. "What's wrong with you?" Kankuro broke me out of my panicked thoughts as both brothers flanked my sides.

"Why are you standing in front of Temari's door?"

"And why do you look guilty?"

I glanced in between them and felt around for Shikamaru's chakra. I couldn't feel it meaning he was masking it. Temari probably told him to do so. She probably figured both her brothers would already be downstairs and that it was safe for Shikamaru to use the upstairs bathroom. Too bad Kankuro woke up late and Gaara...wait.

"Why are you still here?" I asked with a confused expression. Kankuro glanced over my head and raised his eyebrows while nodding his head. Good question, is probably what he was thinking. Gaara should have already left an hour ago for the office.

The young Kazekage shrugged, looking quite bored. "I'm hungry," He stated simply, like that was supposed to explain anything. He was hungry every morning but that never stopped him from skipping out on breakfast with us. Temari usually brought him breakfast once it was time to start her day. Of all the mornings he chose to have breakfast at home with us, it would be the morning Shikamaru was here.

"Right. Well. Um, let me shower first and I'll cook breakfast! Then we can walk to the office and the hospital together!" I offered cheerfully. Maybe I was laying it on too thick because both of them were eyeing me like I'd grown another head.

"...What the hell is wrong with you?" Kankuro squinted at me, shoving his face into mine. I jerked my head back, scowling harshly before shoving him away. Temari clearly lost her sense if she thought bringing Shikamaru back to the house was a good idea. I get that she's the oldest but she's their big sister. They're not going to like any guy she brings home and they'd lose their shit if they knew said guy actually spent a night with her. In her room.

Oh my God, ew. They were probably having sex.

"Well, for one, your morning breath is enough to curl my goddamn eyelashes. Get out of my face," I snapped, shoving him hard. "Just...go use the downstairs bathroom, I'm using this one."

"What about Temari—"

"Fuck Temari, she can wait her turn!"

I hurried to the bathroom, slamming the door behind me. I liked Temari and I liked Shikamaru. I liked them both, they were good people. Well, as good as ninja could actually get. But honestly, what the fuck were they thinking? And why was I covering for them? Who the fuck sneaks into the house of the Sand Siblings? Why the fuck would that even sound like a good idea? Even I wouldn't be that stupid and I've done some stupid shit!

"They're going to be the death of me," I grumbled tiredly, stepping into the shower. By the time I was finished showering, I was a little more alert but my mood was sour. Grumbling and growling, I stood in front of the mirror and twisted my hair into a braid. I pulled on a netted shirt that looked more like a sports bra and a long skirt that hung low around my hips but had a high slit in it.

Heaving a heavy sigh, I left my safe haven and ventured towards Temari's room. "Oi, it's me," I spoke through the door while knocking. The door eased open and I shoved my way through, coming to stand in the middle of the room with my hands on my hips. "What the fuck."

"Xin—"

"No, like seriously. What in the actual fuck. It's one thing to just sneak into any ole ordinary ninja's house but the Kazekage? The Kazekage, you know, the one who used to kill people for fun? You sneaked into his house to bang his sister for Christ's sake!"

"Xin—"

"And let me tell you two something, when they find out, and they will, I'm going to act like I don't know shit. That's right, I am not above lying. I will lie my ass off because there is no way in Hell I'm going to be dragged into this! If my husband kills you, I will act motherfuckin' blind, do you understand me? Blind! Byakugan or not. I did not see a damn thing!"

Temari clamped her hand over my mouth. "Would you shut up for five seconds?" She hissed, eyes narrowed. I scowled under her hand and shoved it away. I don't know where her hand had been or what it's been touching.

"I think five seconds is a little too long for her."

"Fuck off, Shikamaru."

Temari rolled her eyes at the both of us and waved her hand in his direction, probably telling him to just shut up. "You're not going to lie or act blind, Xin," She said soothingly, squeezing my shoulders. I squinted, looking in between them suspiciously.

"Y'all...y'all have been doing this awhile, haven't you?"

"..."

"Oh, good God Almighty."

"You're being over-dramatic."

"There's no way I'm going to be in this. Nope. I'm out. I have signed out."

I booked it out of there like they light a fire up under my ass.

* * *

I didn't let my fear and disgust ruin my day. If Temari and Shikamaru wanted to sneak around like stupid twelve-year olds, be my guest. Clearly this had been something that had been going on for some time now and I wasn't getting involved anytime soon. And then Sasori came along.

"Oh, God," I grumbled as the redhead stepped into my office. I sighed loudly and dropped my chin into my palm. "Please tell me you're bleeding internally or something. Anything. A splinter. Because if you're here to complain about being on bed-rest, I swear to God I'm just going to throw you of the window. I can do it too, your reflexes are slow at the moment."

Sasori gave me a mean look, one that would have killed me if it could. He didn't say anything, opting to settle down in the chair across from me. "Chiyo wants me talk about the years I've been gone," He said after a long moment of just staring at me.

I quirked an eyebrow and tapped my pen against the desktop. "Do I look like a therapist to you?" I asked blandly. "All I'm here for is to make sure you can function like a regular ninja. I'm not here to listen to your grief. That's what you have Chiyo for. Or Hell, you could even tell Gaara about the time you were missing."

Sasori let out a dry laugh. It reminded me of Gaara's dry laughs but I didn't like it as much as Gaara's laugh. "Aren't you just an angel? The public has got you all wrong, don't they? I told you how they see you."

"That's really not my problem, now is it?"

Sasori nodded slowly, like he was agreeing with me. The office was quiet once more and I looked back down. I was documenting all of Ukyo's progress as a medical ninja. So far, she's been doing pretty well. If she mastered medical ninjutsu, I wanted to ease her into poison manipulation. Poison was as hard as medical ninjutsu but Ukyo was smart. I'm sure she could handle it.

"When I left for my mission, I didn't have plans to return to Suna."

My writing ceased but I didn't look up at him, not while my mind was processing what exactly he just said. I sucked my bottom lip into my mouth and tapped the pen twice, causing an ink blot in the middle of my notes. "Are you trying to tell me you were planning on becoming a _nuke-nin_?" I glanced up. Sasori only shrugged, clearly not bothered by my revulsion at the thought of abandoning one's own village.

"If that's what we must call it."

"What we _must_ call it? No, that_ is_ what we call it. Why are you even telling me this?"

"Have you ever felt...restless? Each day is the same thing and it slowly drives you mad? Sometimes I can see it in your eyes, my Lady," He ignored my question and even used my formal title like it was an insult. What's up with the Suna shinobi and using that title against me? Like I wanted the shit.

I narrowed my eyes at him. We were not the same, if that's what he was implying. I never had thoughts of abandoning Konoha, not until they abandoned me. Had I a choice in the matter, I wouldn't have left. My blood, sweat, tears and humanity had been wasted for that village. I'd done things no sane person would be willing to do in the name of Konoha. To make sure that village stood proud and tall, I did many deeds in the dark.

And I had never thought of renouncing my village.

"What you see in my eyes is not restlessness or the urge to abandon my village," I began to say evenly. I didn't even know if I was talking about Suna or Konoha. Neither were really my village. "What you see in my eyes is cabin fever. And that is only because I'm used to being out on the front lines to defend my village, not behind defensive walls aiding the injured and sick. That's all there is to it."

Sasori stared at me hard like he was trying to memorize every feature of my face. I held his gaze and said nothing more. I never noticed but his eyes were really dark, so dark that I didn't know what to call it. It was like complete opposite of looking into Gaara's eyes. Why did I constantly compare those two to begin with?

"I got bored with the life I was living so I didn't return. I was fine with however they branded me and if they wanted to hunt me down. Not like they would have been successful," He smirked a little, obviously aware of his superior talents and abilities.

"You were assumed dead, killed in action, I guess."

He nodded along with my input and continued on without missing a beat. "I joined...an organization," He said slowly, like he really didn't want to bring it up. Well, too late now, I was already slightly interested. "Akatsuki."

I paused, pursing my lips. "You joined a terrorist-mercenary group?" I asked slowly. The only reason I even knew about that group was because I was an ANBU member. I think if I'd been a regular shinobi, I would have never been informed of that notorious group. They weren't bad...but they weren't good as well. They just...they had their own system and didn't really follow the system of hidden villages. They had their own agenda and because they never really caused trouble for Konoha, we weren't sent out to take them down but we were always wary of any of its' members when they traveled too close to Konoha.

"Only one member was a former terrorist."

"Oh, oh, pardon me. Sorry," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

Sasori glared at me, giving me a particularly dirty look. I only shrugged one of my shoulders. Like I really cared about specifics. "So if you joined this group for ten years, why are you suddenly back? Shouldn't you have been dragged back to them and not Suna?"

The older redhead looked uncomfortable and I stayed quiet, waiting for explanation. "Once you join Akatsuki there is no leaving Akatsuki." that was all he said for a long time. He had a far off look in his eyes and for once, I stayed quiet. He was probably thinking of his past ten years of his life.

"Sasori," I uttered softly. I stood up and rounded my desk to lean against the desk. He looked horribly troubled. "When they rolled you in here, you were nearly dead on the table," I stated in the same soft voice. Putting the pieces of Sasori deciding to leave Akatsuki and how they reacted together wasn't hard. It was understandable, what they did. Groups like that always had backup plans in case of its' members decided to leave the group. They had too many secrets, too many locations and other things they didn't need former members to go blabbering about. "Do you think they'll come to Suna?"

Sasori shrugged. "Hard to say. Perhaps they think they succeeded, you did say I was half dead. Perhaps they'll come to see if I really am dead," He stated, sounding like he was listing off simple facts and not a threat on his life. I balled my fingers up into an unsure fist before slowly reaching forward to rest my hand on his shoulder.

"I..." I pulled my hand away and reached both hands towards him, cupping his face. "I...I won't tell Gaara," I rolled my lips and flexed my fingers against his jawline. His face didn't fit right in my hands. He was too...soft. "I don't know why you renounced that group and what made you want to return home but you did."

He smiled very softly but said nothing else. I wondered to myself if it was a good idea to withhold that information from Gaara. Everyone thought he'd been dead this whole time when in reality he'd been a missing ninja. But it's not like he leaked any of Suna's secrets during his time away. Maybe Gaara would grant him a pardon. As I was about to pull away, I heard soft scratching against the wall behind me. Frowning in confusion, I turned and caught a glimpse of something white and bulbous on the window sill. Sasori peeked around me and I heard him inhale sharply before his hands flew around me.

And then the wall exploded.

_End P.O.V_

* * *

There was a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Xin had been acting stranger than usual that morning and Temari hadn't come down to eat breakfast with them either. The two women were acting off but he knew not to ask about it. If he learned anything, it's that women were crazy. They weren't Xin's type of crazy but they were crazy. Odd as his morning may have been, he knew that's not what had been bothering him. He wasn't sure what the strange feeling was but it had something to do with Xin. Something was going to happen and she was going to be in the middle of it. The feeling almost made him order her not to go to the hospital that day.

But he couldn't tell her not to go to work. He was already withholding missions from her. He couldn't have her holed up in his office. She'd really go crazy and probably try to kill something. That strange feeling though...

Gaara rubbed roughly at his temples, sighing heavily. Xin would be fine, he kept telling himself. What could happen in the middle of the village? No one would hurt her, whether they liked her or hated her. No one would attack her. She was not in danger.

But that feeling...

He glanced out the window but saw nothing wrong with his village. Pushing his paranoia to the side, he tried to settle back into his work. He delved into his work for nearly an hour when Xin crept back into his mind. Why was he even concerned for that lunatic? She was fine, for Christ's sake. Nothing could or would go wrong today. He was just being paranoid. Again, he rubbed at his temples.

He remembered some nights ago when he figured Xin was of the fay people. Her eyes were shining mischievously. She enchanted him with her contagious smile and pretty eyes. She was taking over his thoughts. God, that woman was the plague. The young Kazekage sighed heavily, looking down. He was determined to push that evil little hobbit from his thoughts in order to get his work done. There was so much he had to look over and thinking of that lunatic wouldn't help.

And then everything shook.

"What the hell..." He leaned to the side and caught his planted Cactus plant before it could crash to the floor. He placed the pot down in a rush and went to the window, looking out into his village once more. There was smoke billowing just some roads down. "That can't be the hospital..." Gaara whispered quietly. He leaned out of the window, hands gripping the sill tightly. His door flew open and a panicked kunoichi ran in. Her name was Kimi, at least, he was sure her name was Kimi.

"Kazekage-sama!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms about. "The hospital has been attacked," Kimi explained in a rushed voice with sheer panic laced into her eyes. Gaara whipped around to face her.

Xin...

* * *

"Fuckin' hell..."

Sasori and Xin coughed and gagged as they sat in a heap among the rubble. "Xin..." the older shinobi rasped, hands around her waist. He shook her a little bit. "Are you hurt?" He asked, jostling her again.

Xin groaned and shifted around in his grasp. Sasori staggered to his feet, bring her along with him. "I'm fine, I'm fine," She coughed again and leaned into him. "What the...did someone blow up the hospital?" She asked with wide eyes. She stared out of the destroyed wall, looking for something that wasn't there. Perhaps if her head wasn't spinning, she would have activated her Byakugan.

"Seems like it..."

Xin pulled out of his grip, rubbing her head. "Gotta check on the others here..." She fumbled towards the door. The front of the hospital had been completely blown out and she feared for the sick and injured on the other floors.

"Xin, wait—" Sasori reached forward but she was already rushing out. Sasori sighed heavily. She was disoriented and something had nailed her in the head because there was a large gash that was gushing blood that she didn't seem to take notice of. He looked towards the large opening and scowled, he knew what that white thing was. He knew who sent it and he knew why it blew up the hospital.

He could hear shouting and what sounded like a fight and he knew it was the Kazekage trying to protect the village. There were more explosions every now and then that shook what was left of the hospital. Turning away, he hurried after Xin.

He found her one floor down, she moved quickly, helping anyone who'd been further injured from the blast. The young kunoichi was crouched in front of an injured shinobi who'd been nursing a deep gash in their arm. When she managed to close up the wound, she stood on unsteady feet. Her eyes searched the disoriented floor, looking for anyone else who needed medical attention. Sasori intercepted her intentions, catching her by the arm and halting her from hurrying off.

"Get off, Sasori. There's people who need medical attention."

"_You_ need medical attention, Xin."

She blinked at him, not quite catching on. He frowned down at her, pulling her into him and settling his hands on her shoulders just in case. "Xin, can you feel your face?" He asked slowly, watching as her eyes flickered erratically. It was hard to tell if she had a concussion or not by looking into her eyes because she didn't actually have pupils.

"Uh," Xin's eyes squinted and another explosion rocked the remainder of the hospital. The small Hyuga wobbled on her legs. "No, I can't feel my face," She uttered after a pause. Sasori only stared at her, slightly baffled at her actions. "I don't have time to waste over this," She said, suddenly finding the strength to jerk out of his hands. She turned away and Sasori caught her by the shoulder, whirling her back.

The room suddenly spun and she had the sudden urge to throw up. Head pounding like a war-drum, Xin's eyes flickered violently. He watched as her eyes nearly rolled to the back of her head. Somehow, she managed to fight off the urge to completely pass out. "Sensei!" Sasori glanced over his shoulder to see Ukyo rushing towards them. He sighed in relief, figuring Xin wouldn't be so difficult now that her student was coming. She seemed to have a soft spot for the young kunoichi.

"You're bleeding," Ukyo pointed out. Sasori could tell she was trying not to panic but he could see how wild her eyes were. She was terrified. Maybe if he really cared, he would have reassured the younger girl that everything would be fine. But that wasn't in his nature so instead he shoved Xin closer to Ukyo. Xin sighed heavily and managed to weakly throw Sasori a dirty look. She looked down at Ukyo hummed quietly before slowly lowering herself to sit down. Sasori helped her, easing her down until she was sitting, placing his hand on her back to keep her from crumpling backwards.

"Has anyone died?" Xin asked quietly as Ukyo set to work. Ukyo began cleaning the blood away, trying to pinpoint the exact location of Xin's gushing wound. Both Ukyo and Sasori pulled a face at the sight of the bloody wound once Ukyo cleaned enough blood again.

"I don't think so. Most of them are just shell-shocked. There are some wounded here and there. But from what I saw on my way here, the other medics are handling everything" Ukyo informed the older woman. Xin only blinked through her hammering headache. She could feel her skin pulling and tugging under Ukyo's guidance, stitching back together with the aide of her chakra. She would have smiled, proud of Ukyo keeping it together in such a chaotic atmosphere. But she couldn't find the energy to do so.

"The explosions stopped," Sasori suddenly spoke up for the first time since Ukyo arrived. Neither female said anything for a long time, Ukyo too focused on Xin's wound while Xin seemed entirely uninterested. Probably due to the fact that there was a bleeding hole in her face and she couldn't quite grasp anything at this point.

"Kazekage-sama arrived minutes after the explosion so I'm sure he took care of everything," Ukyo suddenly stated with a bright smile. "Actually..." Ukyo paused and looked over Xin's shoulder, spotting the redheaded leader. His eyes swept over the disheveled villagers.

Xin glanced over her shoulder and nearly groaned. "Oh, God," She grumbled. She swore to God if he came over here with some bullshit or another, she was going to bite him. Somehow, these things always ended up being her fault or he always seemed uncaring to her being caught in the crossfire. She remembered the time the exploding tag went off in her face. She twisted her lips up bitterly. And then Oda tried to kill her that one time. And somehow, someway, he found a way to reprimand her. If a damn meteor fell on Suna and they survived, he'd probably find a way to blame it on her.

If she could, she'd roll her eyes.

"Okay, Sensei," Ukyo smiled, unaware of Xin's plight at the sight of the Kazekage. "You should probably get home and rest. I'm sure the rest of the medics can handle everything here," Ukyo stated, rocking back on her heels. "You should probably take a couple of days off to recover. You know, no exercising, sparring, and no work."

"Bah," Xin waved off Ukyo's instructions with a wave of her hand. Sasori circled her waist and helped her to her feet. "I'm fine," was all she offered, leaning the majority of her weight against Sasori. "You took care of me, there's no need to go home just yet."

Ukyo puffed her cheeks out. "Sasori-san, could you let go of Sensei?"

Sasori did so with no problem, watching in twisted amusement as Xin wavered on her own and nearly crumpled to the floor. "This means nothing," She grumbled, catching onto Sasori. He snorted, slipping his arm around her waist to help her out.

Ukyo opened her mouth to argue that it did prove something when she paused. "Are you uninjured, Kazekage-sama?" She asked, slightly leaning around Xin and Sasori. Xin only half turned, peeking over Sasori's shoulder with puckered lips. Her eyebrows pulled together at the supposed love of her life.

"You look like hell. Did you actually win?"

Gaara looked unimpressed with her question. "You try defending an entire village from a psychotic terrorist screaming about art and explosions," He uttered dryly. Xin rolled her eyes this time, muttering and grumbling to herself. Gaara eyed the trio, looking for any signs of injuries. His eyes fell on Sasori's arm wrapped tightly around Xin's waist and that caused him to frown. "Can you stand on your own?" He suddenly asked, eyes seeking out Sasori despite directing the question at the foreigner.

Xin's lips twisted up, probably readying herself to lie straight through her teeth when both Ukyo and Sasori beat her to it. "No," they chorused together, not bothering to look at her. Xin scoffed and pulled herself away from Sasori to show that she was fully capable of standing on her own.

Instead, her muscles trembled and gave out. Gaara caught her by her arms, allowing her meager weight to fall on him. He noted that Sasori took a small step forward, intent on catching her. "Damn it all to Hell," Xin grumbled, unaware of the two redheads. Ukyo healed the wound, why couldn't she pull herself together? How much blood did she lose in the first place? That must have been it, she was probably lightheaded from losing blood. She really hadn't even realized she was bleeding in the first place.

"She suffered from a head wound," Ukyo helpfully pointed out.

Xin shot her a glare. _"Traitor!" _

"Okay, so I got hit in the face with a piece of rubble and bled a little, big deal. I'm fine. It's not the first time an explosion went off in my face," She hurried to say, hoping she wouldn't be dragged back to the Sand Siblings' home. Funny...she never referred to their home as her house even though she had been living there for some time now.

"Come on, you're going home," Gaara uttered, pulling her to him. Xin groaned loudly and tried to fight him off but only succeeded in wriggling her shoulders. "Really terrifying," Gaara rolled his eyes at her attempts and swept her up in his arms, causing her to squeak in embarrassment.

"Christ, I can probably walk!" Xin whined, feeling her skirt falling away from her leg. This would be the day she decided on wearing a skirt with an impossibly high slit. Maybe if she cared enough, she would have fixed it but...she didn't care enough. What she cared about was the fact that Gaara was holding her like some useless bride in a destroyed building filled with ogling people.

"You should probably make sure she stays home for the next couple of days. Just to catch up on her rest. She's a workaholic..." Ukyo suddenly stated. Xin looked at her, a look of utter betrayal over her face. The next time they went for training, she was going to make her do three hundred squats.

"Thank you, Ukyo," Gaara offered a kind but small smile to the young kunoichi. Xin rolled her eyes when she caught Ukyo blushing. Gaara paused, staring at Sasori. Sasori only stared back. Xin glanced in between them, unimpressed.

"Listen, if you don't take me back right now, I'll kick you in the face and then you'll have to chase me down. I'm sure you don't feel like doing that after chasing a loony terrorist, right?" She hummed, swinging one arm around his neck.

Gaara looked down at her and sighed heavily, wondering how he managed to get stuck with her, of all people. Oh, that's right. They were both psychopaths. Er. Former psychopaths. He glanced down at her thoughtfully. Slightly former.

"I trust everyone will be looked after while I drag her home?" He questioned, looking around. Most of his villagers seemed unharmed. Frazzled but unharmed. That was a good thing. Somehow most of them managed to avoid being hurt. He looked at Xin. She seemed to be getting the short end of the stick lately with these sort of situations.

Ukyo nodded quickly although it really wasn't up to her to say, she was only training to be a medical ninja after all. Gaara glanced at Sasori, holding his gaze one last time before leaving the ruins of his hospital.

* * *

_Xin's P.O.V_

Shikamaru and Temari weren't home and I figured at least that was something I didn't have to deal with right now. Although I did wonder where they managed to run of to. They weren't there at the hospital and I figured a hole being blown into the wall of a freakin' hospital would be enough to have everyone come running.

"Ugh," I groaned loudly as Gaara settled me on the couch. "This sucks," I whined, pulling my legs up to my chest. My head wasn't pounding as hard as it was before. I reached up, feeling around my face but remembered I couldn't actually feel it in the first place.

I expected Gaara to leave after depositing me on the couch but he stood over me, staring at my face with an unreadable expression. I twitched under his gaze, feeling comfortable. "What happened?"

I blinked, kind of caught off guard by his question. Oh, this wasn't totally all of my fault for once? What a shock to my system. I twitched again and then shrugged. "Sasori and I were in my office. There was something on the window...white. It was weird, I don't know. I turned around to see what it was and it exploded. Sasori pulled me from being directly in front of the explosion and something nailed me in the face."

Gaara was staring so hard into my face I thought I might burst into flames. "What...what was Sasori doing in your office?" He asked slowly, eyes searching mine for answers I didn't know if I had. I tilted my head to the side in confusion.

"He wanted to talk."

"About what?"

"That...I can't really say."

"Xin."

"Gaara, what Sasori and I talked about has nothing to do with the situation at hand. Someone blew a freakin' hole into the Hospital._ The Hospital_. Not the bank, not your Tower but the Hospital. Where sick and defenseless people stay and you want to know why and what we were talking about?"

Gaara jumped forward and seized me by my upper arms, yanking me off of the couch and onto unsteady feet. I faltered, having no choice but to lean against him. He narrowed those pretty blue eyes down at me. "What are you keeping from me?" He demanded with a fierce spark in his eyes. My face twisted up at his obsessive behavior. What the hell was up with him?

"Look, Sasori confided in me, that's all."

"You're a therapist now? Is there anything you can't do?"

His sarcastic words had a bite to them and if I had the strength, I probably would have tried to actually punch him this time. "What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you acting like we were having sex and you caught us? I've been pushing him for weeks to open up and that's what he did, opened up!" I growled, my voice reaching a high pitch in my frustration.

"Opened up about what?"

"That isn't any of your business!" I snapped in annoyance. Technically, it was every bit of Gaara's business. Sasori was a Suna shinobi. Gaara was the leader of said Shinobi so by default, it was his business. But as it is, I promised Sasori I wouldn't tell him what was talked about.

"It _is_ my business. _You're _my business. _Everything _you do is my business, including having secretive meetings with my Shinobi!" He snapped right back at me. Like I said, knowing about Sasori was his business. But me? Me? I wasn't his goddamn business, I didn't even like him enough!

I stared at him, hard. "I'm not your goddamn business, Gaara!" I hissed, weakly tugging at his grip. I could feel the headache blooming just behind my eyes due to my anger and annoyance. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were just jealous because I was spending time with Sasori and we weren't spending it arguing," I pointed out, feeling his grip around my arms becoming bruising.

"Well, guess what? You don't have the right to be jealous in the first place, Gaara. Remember what you said to me the day we met? Huh? What were those words? Oh! Oh! I remember. This won't be a marriage of love, right? It's a business deal. This was your idea. Those were your words. I'm holding up my end of the bargain, Gaara. I'm making you look good and that's all you need to worry about. So drop all of this bullshit and let me go."

He looked like I'd actually slapped the living hell out of him. I kept up my scowl, fully irritated with how things had turned out. What in God's name was wrong with us? Why did we always end up arguing like this? One of us could have been killed today but we didn't even care! Amusing as it can be, it was starting to wear me down.

"Making me look good doesn't mean spending time with random men behind closed doors," Gaara pointed out in an icy voice. I gaped at him, offended as to what he was implying. "Or having them wrapped around you."

"If you didn't notice, I couldn't stand on my own. You know, because I was hit in the _face _by a hard piece of _building_? Not that you ever give a flying fuck but I couldn't even feel my face! Don't get all pissy because someone had to help me stand."

Gaara's eyes started to flicker ominously between blue and gold. I could only watch in muted fascination at the inner battle waging on under a calm façade. I tried to use that to my advantage, nearly slipping out his death-like grip. Moving seemed to have angered it because suddenly his attention was back on me, which, kind of scared the hell out of me. I flinched back and faltered when I felt slightly sharp fingernails _(claws? Felt like claws)_ dig into my flesh, puncturing it. "Jesus Christ—"

I thought he was going to bite my fuckin' face off just then. Instead, he threw me for a loop when he kissed me. The sound of surprise that managed to escape my muffled lips was undignified, I sounded like a confused puppy or something. Gathering my wits I tried to pull away, lips trembling under his. I jerked away, causing his nails to rip out of my arms. I stumbled backwards without his body holding me up and dropped to the couch, Gaara landing on top of me.

Oh, great. How did that even happen?

I planted my hands on his shoulders and tried in a vain attempt to get him off of my face, at least. "Gaara," I managed to gasp around his lips. God, his lips felt so nice and his chest felt even better and fuck, fuck, fuck, I was getting distracted. Damn my hormones. Damn them straight to Hell. You know what, damn everything straight to Hell.

He bit down on my bottom lip and, me, being the sick twisted deviant that I was, moaned as pleasure laced with pain exploded from my mouth. I'm going to Hell for being so weak. Forgetting my actual sense and the fact that I barely even liked him, my hands found the buckles of his vest. My fingers pulled and tugged at his buckles, somehow managing to unlatch both buckles. I found the collar of his overcoat and yanked on the zipper, managing to push both the coat and the vest away from his torso.

I think undressing him so suddenly and giving into his lust kind of surprised him because he stilled beneath my fingers. Feeling his body tense against mine caused me to also become still, fingers curling against his chest. He pulled back only slightly, just enough to breath harshly against my lips. I'm a little out of breath but it's alright because so is he and we take deep breaths, my softer breasts rubbing harshly against the hard planes of his chest. I vaguely noted the mesh tank top he's wearing underneath his layers of clothing and for a moment, I thought of tearing the mesh material away just so I could rub and touch his bare chest.

Our relationship was beyond fucked. We fight, bicker and threaten each other only to experiment with touching, kissing and grinding in the very next second. We couldn't decide whether we hated each other or wanted each other. It was confusing, maddening, frustrating. But...it was exciting. And that was our problem. We were addicted to one another. Addicted to angering each other, pleasuring, fighting and one-upping each other. And we were stuck like that.

Gaara shifted above me, pulling me out of my thoughts. He pushed away from me and I suddenly swung my arms around his neck, halting him from backing off from me. It was only moments ago that I wanted to slap the shit out of him and now I was stopping him from retreating. "Xin," Gaara rasped into my face but I only stretched up, taking the opportunity to press my mouth against the pulse in his neck. He made a noise, like he was inhaling sharply through clenched teeth. Grinning internally, I shifted and found his pulse with my teeth, biting and sucking at his skin.

His hands clenched at the back of the couch, nearly splintering the base under the thick cushions. That only caused my internal grin to stretch so far, it nearly cracked my mind. Pulling back, I locked eyes with him before pecking him lightly, gently, on his lips. I almost giggled insanely when he surged forward, pressing me against the back of the couch almost violently. He swooped in, not satisfied with the gentle pecks I've been torturing him with. He kissed me hard enough to consider it as a bruising kiss but I loved it. Loved the dull throb erupting from my puffy lips. Loved the too-tight grip on me. Loved the feeling of being trapped under him.

I had some strange fetishes of being dominated. It was probably because I was used to be so dominating in general. I guess being dominated for once actually kind of turned me on. Huh. Who would've thought...

He led a stray of kisses down from mouth, along the length of my slim jaw and down my neck. A lone moan escaped me when he paused to bite and suck at my neck like I had done to him only minutes before. Maybe if I had been thinking straight, I would've thrown him off of me. I was horribly pale and he was going to leave a mark that I was going to have to hide.

On the bright side, he'd have one to match.

His kisses continued, dipping past my collarbone right into my cleavage. That's probably where I should have drawn the line. But lust was a motherfucker and I found myself moaning and whimpering when he bit and licked at my flesh. Under my mesh shirt/sports bra-thing, my nipples were straining almost painfully against the material and I was seconds away from yanking the damn thing off.

And then Jura ran into the living room.

"Xin! Xin! Jesus Christ, I heard you were hurt down at the hospital!" the large brunet ran into the living room, not giving Gaara and I the chance to even attempt to separate and right ourselves.

The haze of lust that had clouded over us shattered and I stared at my unofficial best friend with wide eyes. He came to a screeching halt as Gaara slowly sat up. I bit my lip, glancing in between the two males in the living room. "Uh," I fumbled over something to say, embarrassed that I was caught with Gaara's face literally buried into my breasts.

Jura looked scared shitless once his brain finally caught up with his body. This is why knocking before entering was important. He stood frozen, stiffening under Gaara's intense glare. Even I felt nervous as I felt his Chakra fluctuating. Hands pressed to my hips, Gaara leaned in and suddenly kissed me. It surprised me but I couldn't help my eyes sliding close. I suppose he'd been paying attention to what made me react the most. He kissed me hard, sucking my bottom lip into his mouth. He bit my bottom lip just hard enough to cause me to squeak.

Gaara pulled away, tongue dragging from my mouth excruciatingly slow. I blinked slowly, slightly dazed and noted that Gaara's intense glare hadn't faltered or strayed from Jura. My eyebrows drew together slowly. Had he kept that stare up during that kiss? "Gaara," I prodded at his bare chest. "_Gaara," _I shoved at his shoulder and he finally broke his stare. He pulled away, standing up and towering over me. Seemingly forgetting that Jura was there, he stared down at me.

My face felt hot under both his and Jura's gazes. He reached down, hands slipping under my arms and tugging me to my feet. I fell against him, not a breath of air separating us. He kissed me once more, this time softer and more sensually than the kisses we shared previously. I could only blink in question as he pulled away and slipped his overcoat and vest back on, barring me from his wonderfully sculpted chest that I hadn't even looked at that much. "We'll talk later when I come home," Gaara stated simply, causing me to pull a confused face.

I shrugged while looking away, letting him go. With my back turned, I didn't notice the positively evil glare he tossed Jura's way. I didn't turn until I heard the front door close behind Gaara.

I forgot to mention the confusing part of our relationship. The part where one of us does something to make the other think that maybe there is a chance to be in a normal relationship. That maybe we could fall in love. Maybe we could actually like each other. But that part is small, barely making a difference. I turned around, frowning and suddenly going to hug Jura. The tall brunet was probably confused and disturbed. And most likely scared shitless that Gaara would come charging back in here to kill him for breathing on me. But that wouldn't happen and I felt something in me shatter. We'd never get that normality.

Because at the end of the day, we still find comfort in our friends or in our work and not in each other.

* * *

Panda: how was sexy-time this time around!? But yes, we can totally talk about how badass Xin could be because who rips a person's arm off and smacks them with it?! Badasses, that's who! Yep, be suspicious about Ume. She's weird. I hope Xin and Gaara's relationship is developing well enough so far. And go you, college life is hard as hell but you keep it up girl! I'm rooting for ya~

Apollo Child1512: One of the best compliments I've ever recieved, thank you! I'm glad that you're happy when I update. Makes me happy to know you're happy!

Afaaf: Hope this chapter was epic!

Wajagirlliz: I'm glad you like Xin's insanity, she's fun to write but sometimes kind of hard at the same time. She writes herself, really and she's upredicatable so I'm glad you like her and Gaara together. I giggled like an idiot too at the mission report segment. Gotta have fun with the stuff you write. Thank you for the love!

Gaaaara (guest): Gosh, the best fanfic? Wow, thank you so much. Glad you love them together!

Sweetsmilez: thank you thank you! I hope you continue loving this story.

Booklover0608: Not weird at all! That's what I was going for, well, kind of. It means their relationships are progressing well. And Ume, yeah, can't go wrong with crazy smart kittens!

Lillian: God, I'm so happy that my last chapter cheered you up after having a crappy day. Recieving reviews like that makes me really glad I shared my stories with you guys. Xin wouldn't let something like her crappy childhood get in her way! That is what being strong is about and I'm glad she embodies that. Thank you!

Akari: I'm glad that after all this time my humor can still make you laugh! Xin was just being her usual ass-self when she wrote that mission report, lol. I think that Xin would call her children that and Gaara would not be amused. The most frustrating thing about the Naruto World was that they never really explored the other villages and their shinobi, like yeah, they touched upon it every so often but everything was usualy about Konoha so we didn't really get to see much about the other villages. Temari seems like the only one who ever had a summoning outside of Konoha. Well, that's what fanfics are for, I guess. Hope you enjoyed this update!

JediGemini: I feel kind of bad that you stayed up all night to read this story but I've done it many times myself, lol. Sleep is important but like...sometimes fanfics are more important. I understand. Hope you enjoyed.

Guest: I didn't really notice how frustrating the Siblings are when it comes to Xin almost dying or getting into some sort of trouble. I think it's just that they trust she'll make it out alive but she always has Jura running in like a banshee when she gets hurt for the time being! The siblings will come around eventually.

Rose1991: Your taste in music is fantastic and those songs you picked out fits Xin or her relationship with Gaara. Xin's insanity is one of the best things to write about in this story and I'm glad you're enjoying it along with me. I'll be sure to remember to ask you for any new music suggestions and hell yes, that last line, "not all the songs are golden, because not all my characters are golden". That? That right there? That's some poetic justice-shit and I think Xin easily fits into that. Hope you enjoyed!

This chapter, not including my long ass Author's notes, was pretty long! Well I feel like it's kind of long. I hope that it makes a difference to you guys. I didn't want the chapter to drag on but I didn't really want to end it on a cliffhanger. A lot of shit happened in this chapter, more so with the side characters. They're important to the plot which is why I went off to write a bit about them.

But its still about Xinny and Gaara and their screwed up relationship. Honestly, those two are just all over the place. But once you get two characters together who aren't used to affection or just being normal teenagers, I figured they'd be all over the place. Hope that it makes sense and it applies to the story well enough.

Well, till next time! Happy Holidays as well. Hope all is well!


	15. Goddamn right you should be scared of me

"You know...not that it's any of my business..."

"It's not."

"And you probably don't want my input."

"I don't."

"...Or that you'll even need it..."

"I won't."

I could just feel the glare bouncing off the back of my head. I expertly ignored it, having been used to my grandparents and Father glaring at me since I came out the womb and everything. Temari's glare was really nothing but child's play. And then she pinched the back of my neck.

"Christ, what are you? Five?" I hissed, turning around to swat her hand away. She rolled her eyes and stepped out of my swinging range. "You know, I think I liked it better when you were off with Shikamaru. Less nosy. And abusive. Must have been getting the dic—"

"I will slam your head into the counter, I swear to God."

I laughed and went back to seasoning the steak. Temari clanked behind my in the cabinets, pulling out the teapot. I rolled my eyes at the thought. I was getting sick and tired of drinking tea for dinner. Anytime I so much as looked at the coffee pot, one of the siblings glared viciously at me. Coffee haters.

"Stop trying to change the subject, Xin," Temari huffed irritably. I rolled my eyes, hoping she would have just forgotten why she pinched and glared at me in the first place. "What's the matter with you two? It's unlike you guys to just avoid each other. You don't even try to irritate him. You haven't had lunch with him for the past couple of days..."

"Well aren't you observant...?" I asked with low-lidded eyes. I absently tapped my fingers against the counter. I was itching for a cigarette. Taking that cigarette just flared up my addiction I had successfully kicked months ago. Since then, I smoke only two cigarettes a day and I only smoked during my breaks from the hospital or when I was sure I was completely alone. Lest I wanted the blonde psycho to smack me again.

Temari suddenly leaned against the counter next to me, kind of startling me. She stared at the side of my face, frowning softly in thought. I avoided her gaze, flipped the steaks over and began seasoning that side. I stared into the sink, noticing there would be too much leftover. Gaara wouldn't be joining us for dinner but I kept preparing it as if he was. I puffed my cheeks out. "Xin," Temari uttered softly, causing me to break my stare in order to look at her.

"This whole marriage thing is stressful, I know," She started to say. I almost wanted to laugh, that's what the problem was? Man, was she off. "It shoved us together without us getting a chance to get to know one another and make friendships..." She continued to say as I continued to stare. Wait, where was she going with this? "But we're family. Whether you or Gaara or any of us likes it or not. You're all we've got and we're all you've got. We're a family, albeit dysfunctional, but we're a family. You're marrying my younger brother so that makes you my younger sister."

Honestly, I was surprised by her sudden declaration and I could just feel it written all over my face. I mentioned it several times but my relationships with my actual sisters sucked a lot. It was strange for someone to assert their role as my older sister so aggressively. Not when I was so used to the nonexistent relationship shared my docile older sister.

"So, if there's something that's bothering you, I'm here to listen. Even if you want to rant about how stupid my younger brother is, I'm here," She ended her heart-felt speech by placing a comforting hand on my shoulder.

At a loss for words, I continued staring at her. Instead of saying anything else, she smiled kindly. I only blinked at her. Temari really was pretty when she remembered to smile. I bet it's what caught Shikamaru. "Uh," I glanced away, slightly embarrassed. This was not what I was used to. "It's just that..." I paused, rolling my lips together. Now that I was being asked upfront, I had no idea how to really explain it. Because I still didn't even know. "We...sometimes we'll have these conversations or we'll be alone and...we've kissed a couple of times."

Temari blinked those pretty teal eyes at me. "Like that time in the kitchen when you kissed him in front of us and he shoved you away?"

I laughed. "No, that was done solely to piss him off. I mean...we _kiss,_Temari. Probably like how you and Shikamaru kiss behind closed doors," I wrinkled my nose, severely scarred as that mental picture imprinted itself in my mind. Temari blushed. "But the last couple of times has been so confusing because we'll argue. We scream and fight and say the nastiest things to one another and then one of us will just...jump forward and kiss each other. And the other just follows along. It's so...confusing."

I could tell Temari was trying hard not to look disturbed. I'd be surprised too, actually, I_ was_ surprised. I mean, Gaara actually has hormones. And he's feeding into his hormones. The shit is weird.

"Well, what were you guys arguing about last time?"

"Sasori."

"Ah?" Temari blinked rapidly for the second time. God, there was so much she just didn't know. So much that went on behind closed doors. I tapped my finger against the counter again, rolling my lips together. Slowly, I nodded.

"Sasori and I got caught in that blast. It detonated from my office, Sasori pulled me from being directly in front of the blast but I still got nicked in the face by a stray piece of rubble. I was bleeding and didn't even realize it, my face had gone numb. Unaware that my face was gushing and spurting out blood, I just booked it out of there so I could tend to anyone that needed help."

"You really do have a heart, huh?"

"I'll stop talking right now."

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. No more comments. Continue."

Rolling my eyes at her behavior, I continued recounting the story. "Sasori eventually pulled me to the side until Ukyo came to heal my face. We bickered and then he helped me stand up because I was lightheaded. Then your stupid brother came in. He kept giving Sasori weird looks, I had to threaten to kick him in the face because he kept staring at him."

Temari nodded along to my words. "When we came back here, he asked what happened, I explained to him about what went down and then he asked what Sasori was doing in my office—"

"What was he doing in there?"

"Seriously? Seriously. Let me finish the story, damn."

The blonde rolled her eyes but nodded. "I told him that we were just talking, he asked about what and I told him that I couldn't tell him. He got all angry and I couldn't understand why. He was acting like I cheated on him with Sasori or something. He basically accused me of fooling around with strange men behind closed doors, can you believe that shit?"

"Are you?"

"_What?_"

Temari seemed too relaxed as I stared at her with wide eyes. "Fuck no!" I hissed a second later, itching to just slam her head into the counter. "I don't even like Sasori as a person, let along enough to actually screw around with him behind Gaara's back! For fuck's sake! What do you people really think of me? Hm?"

"Well," She began calmly when I shut my mouth. "It's not unheard of in arranged marriages to find comfort in another person," She shrugged her shoulder. "Arranged marriages aren't usually out of love or even attraction. It's to benefit something. So, nine times out of ten, either spouse will find another person to love."

I puckered my lips, disturbed by her words even though I had thought about that same thing very early on. "My parents were arranged to marry. They turned out very happy," I pointed out with a shrug. Yeah, they were pretty happy until I came along and nearly killed Mom. Shit went downhill from there, I guess. But I don't think Dad ever found someone else behind Mom's back.

Temari nodded along to my words. "Some people are lucky but you two are determined to be miserable together," She shrugged one shoulder. "If you guys stopped bickering long enough, you'd see that you could get along well enough. You do it sometimes. Get along like normal people?"

"In case you haven't noticed, we're not normal people."

"All the more reason to get along."

Chuckling at her words, I paused to roll my eyes playfully. "Anyway, he accused me of that and we argued. Then bam, make-out city! And I tried to stop it, I really did, but your brother knows how to kiss. Which is kind of weird now that I think about. I mean, really, who the fuck did he practice on? Matsuri? Kudos to her."

"I'm not exactly sure but I know none of that has anything to do with the problem at hand..."

I paused, eyebrows raised. Well, she had a point. Besides, who wants to hear about how their siblings kiss? I'd be disgusted if someone said anything about Hinata, Hanabi or Neji kissing. I'd probably try to strangle them. "Right...um, oh! So we kissed. And then Jura ran in and Christ, it was so awkward. So we're sitting there with Jura just staring at us and Gaara kisses me again. But...I don't think he closed his eyes. I think he stared at Jura the entire time. He kissed me again and said we'd talk later and just left."

Temari didn't say anything so I opened my mouth again. "And it's been a week since then and he's...he's avoiding me. I went to his office the day after that but he was busy and I figured it was because of the whole hospital blowing up and everything. But every time I came anywhere near, he always had some excuse as to why he couldn't be bothered with me..."

"Do you feel some sort of way about that?"

"Well...yeah! Whether we like each other or not, we had a system! A routine! And he's just screwing it up now. The fuck did I do wrong anyway? I was the victim, damn it!"

"Stop playing the victim, Xin," Temari rolled my eyes, ignoring my scandalized look. "You're not a victim. Obviously you reacted to him kissing you," She reasoned, much to my annoyance. Okay, so maybe I wasn't the victim, not if you really thought about it. But Hell if she thought I wasn't going to milk that. "You know what I think it is?"

"No but I'm positive you'll tell me."

Temari expertly ignored my dry wit. "I think he likes you," She uttered evenly, ignoring my disturbed expression. "I think he's growing to like you and he doesn't know how to react to it because like I said, you guys are determined to be miserable together," She stated with a serious expression. I made sure she could see my disturbed expression. "You're so immature," She threw her hands up and looked down into the sink. "Are you going to cook now?" She asked like I was completely supposed to ignore the part where she called me immature.

Opening my mouth to unleash Hell on her, I paused when I heard shuffling behind me. Peeking over my shoulder, I spotted Kankuro standing there. He grinned at the two of us. "Yo," He greeted casually, waving as he stepped into the kitchen. I offered a simple wave while Temari verbally greeted her brother. I guess Kankuro showing up meant that our 'girl-talk' had to be put on hold. Not that I really cared if Kankuro overheard our conversation but it was a 'girl-talk' for a reason, I guess. There were rules and guidelines to Girl Code that had to be followed.

Noticing him sitting at the table not doing anything, I rolled my eyes. "Make yourself useful and set the damn table!"

* * *

There was a soft knocking at my office door. "Come in," I sung loudly, staring out the window absently. It was nearly a month since the bombing of the Hospital and the gaping hole had been expertly repaired. I figured it had something to do with Gaara and his sand. Jura popped into my office. "Look who learned how to knock," I mused while looking his way. "Now if I only I could get your sister and the rest of Suna to learn of this lost art, everything would be great," I added in mock amusement.

He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, I'm sure if you scarred them like I was scarred..." He shot back, probably only half joking. I rolled my eyes and waved his statement off, not really wanting to bring that up.

"Whatever. Are you hurt?"

"Do I look hurt?"

"No but I'm about to hurt you if you came here to bullshit."

Jura grinned, clearly not believing my words. God, I've become soft. For a reason I couldn't explain, everyone seemed to want to hang out here. And that would have been fine if this wasn't a medic's office. I didn't really have the time to hang out, I was constantly busy whether it was with a person or if it was paperwork and whenever one of them wandered in on a bored whim, it distracted me.

Knowing that Jura was perfectly fine, I sighed heavily and looked at him. His grin wavered for a second and he leaned against the side of my desk, arms folded across his broad chest. Frowning, I arched one of my brows. "You know Hideki's team went out on a mission a week ago," Jura began saying. I wasn't really sure what mission Gaara had sent Kankuro and the kids on, probably not a dangerous one since Usui was still a Genin. I was kind of bored with Ukyo not around. She was the only one who didn't completely piss me off. "They should have returned already."

I peeked into his face, frowning slightly. "Sometimes a mission can run a little late."

"Four days late?"

Pursing my lips, I tried not to grimace. "They're all talented shinobi, Jura, and I'm sure they're just fine. They probably got caught up in one of those damn sandstorms and thrown off track. I'm sure they'll be back in here, storming my office to get their eyes flushed. Although I'm not sure why they insist on coming to me when there's a bunch of other medics running around..."

"Probably because they either have a crush on you or they trust you," Jura pointed out. Ha, Kankuro still asked if I poisoned his breakfast and dinner. If Kankuro came to me, it was only to annoy the hell out of me in public view so that I couldn't threaten to castrate him.

"Hideki has a crush on Ukyo," I pointed out.

Jura shrugged one shoulder. "How come you and Kyohei don't seem to get along?" He suddenly asked out of the blue. I only blinked at him, clearly caught off guard by the sudden question. I don't think I ever said anything about not liking Kyohei. Yes, I hated him but I had good reason. He was trying to kill me after all.

"We get along," I even replied with a shrug. Gaara barely believed me about Kyohei's involvement in that up-rise, his brother would be worse. Jura fixed me with a short glare, like he clearly didn't believe my bullshit. I only shrugged my shoulders and looked back down, shuffling through the messy folders and papers on the desk.

"Doesn't seem like it to me. Or Asuna and Hatsune."

"Hatsune doesn't think I get along with anyone, not even my own fiance," I added with a sarcastic laugh. Jura looked like he wanted to argue that statement but stopped himself with an amused smile. He knew I had a point there and there was no arguing with it.

"Okay, you got me there," Jura nodded his head. "But still, it's kind of obvious that you guys don't like one another. It's always tense when you two come around each other," Jura shifted against my desk, folding his arms across his chest. I only drummed my fingers against the desktop, frowning softly.

Again, I pursed my lips in thought. "The last time I was healing him, I scolded him for being so sloppy," I said with a shrug. "Some people don't like to be criticized so we had some words."

Oh, he also wanted to kill me but we're not going to talk about that...

Jura rolled his lips together, looking terribly thoughtful. It didn't quite suit him. In a way. Jura reminded me a lot of Naruto. A big goof. And big goofs shouldn't look so deep in thought. It didn't fit their face. "Anyway, I get along with you and Hideki so two out of four is enough for me."

"You're forgetting Asuna."

"Eh, she's neutral territory."

The big brunet smiled widely and it was enough to make me smile. I smiled with low eyes, hand pressed against my chin. I think it was moments like this that made me think that maybe my life wasn't so shitty. I mean, yeah, I was miles and miles away from my family and the people I grew up with and thrown into a foreign city blindfolded and everything. But I sort of made a family for myself. Dysfunctional as we were but we made it work. And these people were weird as fuck but they were friendly. Well, some of them. But I had a family and friends and it wasn't so bad.

You know, if I just ignored the rogue ninjas trying to kill Gaara and I.

Details, just small details.

* * *

"Oi," I called out, swinging the doors open. For the past two weeks Gaara had been avoiding me by using the excuse of being busy with rebuilding the hospital's blown out wall. "I was supposed to give you this awhile ago but you know, you've been avoiding me and everything," I waved the folder carelessly as I approached his desk.

"I wasn't avoiding you, Xin."

"I call bullshit."

"_You're_ bullshit."

"Now that was just childish."

Almost like clockwork, I kicked my sandals off and climbed on his desk, crossing my legs under me and setting the folder down. "The report on how many people were injured, how much medicine and materials were lost and how much money and time it'll take to replace everything that was lost," I explained, sliding the folder closer to him. He eyed it warily.

Gaara opened the folder, sifting through it and making a face. "I thought you were bad at math," He said casually. I made my own face, huffing but slightly impressed that he remembered the little random fact about me. Look who was keeping track.

"I am bad at it. I asked Ukyo to double check my calculations before she left on that mission," I shrugged, blushing slightly. "I was only off by a little bit," I added quickly with another huff when I caught his amused look. It was gone before I could point it out. Gaara continued reading through it, pausing every now and then to reread something over and grumble about it. "You've been working your shinobi to the bone out on border patrols and gate keeping," I suddenly said out of nowhere. "I've also noticed some shinobi hanging around the house and the hospital," I tapped my finger against my knee. "Care to explain?"

"Who knows when the terrorist might try to return?"

"Well, yes, that's a very good point but it doesn't explain why you have shinobi guarding the house."

"I don't have to explain the orders I give."

"Well, next time I almost break one of your shinobi skulls in, I don't have to explain why."

"Why would you even do that?"

"Gee. I don't know, it's three in the morning and I can feel someone's chakra sitting right out the front door. It's not Kankuro and it's not Temari's chakra so who could it be?" I hummed sarcastically. He gave me one of his famous glares but I waved it off, opting to look down and pick at my pants. Was stationing the shinobi outside the house and hospital his own weird way of being worried about me? Or maybe I was just reading too deeply into this.

"Gaara, do you like me?"

Oh, holy shit, I didn't mean to ask that out loud. That was just supposed to be an internal question. I peeked down at him, watching stiffly as he paused with a strange look on his face. I opened my mouth to retrace my words but he beat me to it.

"I don't hate you," He said simply with a shrug. I wasn't sure if his sudden confession, if it could even be considered that, offended me or not. Honestly, what the hell did that even mean? That's not even what I asked. "Why would you ask something like that?"

I squinted at him, slightly annoyed, and leaned in. "Because you've been acting weird, that's why," I pointed out. "You act like my jealous boyfriend, you kiss me in front of my friend like I'm your property and then you storm out and avoid me for nearly two weeks."

"I didn't storm out," He stated, tense shoulders raised in defense. "I left to attend to the Hospital," He pointed out. "Remember, a hole had been blown into it," Gaara added with dark amusement. I gaped down at him. Last time I checked, I'd been the one constantly pointing out that someone had blown a freakin' hole into the side of the hospital. "You've kissed me before and I didn't question it."

"I didn't avoid you for two weeks."

"If only you would."

"I also didn't attack you after being kissed."

"That was one time and your behavior was unnecessary."

"Oh? Was it because Matsuri walked in?"

The glare this time was less out of amusement and more of annoyance. I sighed heavily and pursed my lips, figuring they was no point to argue over something that happened in the beginning of our relationship. "We've avoided each other before, Xin," Gaara suddenly pointed out, breaking me from my thoughts. I looked down into his face, frowning softly. Temari's words came back echoing back, _I think he likes you. _Even if he does like me, he probably hasn't realized it. But the bigger question Temari would have asked me if Kankuro hadn't come in was probably, _do you like him?  
_

Do I?

I thought back to when I was around fourteen or fifteen and being head over heels in love with Itachi. Back then, Itachi had always been a kind person and he was more like a big brother than a potential boyfriend or husband. That, I knew but it still didn't stop me from developing a crush on him. I didn't see Gaara in that sort of light. Actually, I'm not sure what type of light I saw the Kazekage in. Sometimes we got along pretty well, sharing jokes and sarcastic jabs. Other times we practically hated one another, spewing venom and hatred in each others' faces.

Is that how people in love acted?

Perhaps I should write a letter to my Grandmother. Or maybe my Mother? I glanced down at him, wondering if it was even safe to send a letter. With me being from Konoha sending a letter to Konoha, they'd probably want to read the letter to make certain that I wasn't planning any coups. I bit my nail, slightly annoyed. Glancing at the clock, I realized it was time to return to the Hospital. Heaving a heavy sigh, I unfolded my legs and clambered off the desk. I leaned against the desk and worked my sandals off with little difficulty, vaguely noting that my nail polish was starting to chip away.

"You better be home for dinner tonight," I stated simply while straightening up. Gaara only grunted in reply and that caused me to roll my eyes. Despite that, I smiled down at him, figuring our weird and wacky routine most likely back on track before remembering something. "Oh," I rounded his desk, ignoring his confused look as I stared at the four drawers. I squatted down and knocked against the drawer closest to the floor. Gaara was staring at me, probably wondering about my sanity.

Grabbing the knob, I eased the drawer open and pursed my lips. "Ume," I greeted the slumbering kitten among folders and papers. I heard Gaara make a confused noise as I roused the kitten from her nap. I clicked my tongue twice. "Come on, out." I glanced up at Gaara as Ume jumped from her hiding spot. She made her way to my shoulder while I smiled weakly. "I've been looking for her for days," I laughed nervously under his heated gaze. "Well...see you for dinner!"

I was still laughing nervously as I made my way back to the Hospital. "Honestly, Ume, of all places to take a cat nap.." I jerked my shoulder when I realized she was trying to ignore me. She opened her eyes half way and mewled. "No, I'm not catering to him but what if he found you first? Eh? He would've suffocated you," I pointed out blankly as I made my way through the village.

Ume mewled again, this time in annoyance. "You could have at least told me that's where you were taking your naps," I rolled my eyes, finally making it to the Hospital. "You know he doesn't even like you. What made you want to nap there anyway?"

People were probably watching me converse with Ume and wondering what the hell was up with me. They were probably chalking it off as some weird thing I got from being raised in Konoha. Ume mewled for a third time, lazily answering my question. "Ah, that was his junk drawer? Well, either way, you should probably stay out of his way. He doesn't seem to be a cat-person. He's a raccoon-dog kind of guy," I grinned at my own corny joke and I swear to God Ume rolled her eyes.

Maybe there really was something strange about her?

Shrugging it off, I closed my office door behind me and settled down, allowing Ume to slink her way down my arm and on to my desk. I opened one of my drawers and pulled out a cotton swab and nail polish remover. Knowing I had no other appointments, I slipped my sandals off and started removing my chipped nail polish from my toenails. It only took twenty minutes before I was rifling through my drawer once more in search of nail polish.

"Eh, Ume, have you—" I paused to stare at her with an unimpressed stare. While I was busy getting rid of the old polish, Ume had gotten a hold of the vial of nail polish, rolling it back and forth between her paws. "Tricky cat," I grumbled while snatching the vial away. If Ume could grin, I'm sure she'd be grinning.

I was just finishing up when I heard a commotion out in the halls. For a second I glanced up at the door, frowning before shrugging it off. I looked back towards my toenails, painted black this time and leaned forward to blow on them to help dry faster. As my nails were drying, my door burst open. I nearly fell out of my chair as the door slammed into the wall, probably creating a dent or maybe even a sizable hole. I stared at the door, knowing Gaara was going to have a fit when I told him about the newest dent—or hole. Whatever.

It was the same young nurse who had caught me spinning in my chair when Sasori first arrived. That woman had mutant strength. Sachiko was her name but seeing as how she seemed to be self-appointed to working closely with me, I'd started calling her Chiko.

"For the love of God, Chiko, if you cause any more damage with that door, Gaara is just going to take the damn thing off," I reminded her flatly. I didn't even bother to be concerned with her frantic look. One thing I learned about her was that she was easily set off.

"It's an emergency, my Lady."

"We work at a Hospital, Chiko, it's _always_ an emergency."

The honey-blonde shook her head violently. "My lady," She gripped the door-knob, knuckles becoming white. "It's Kankuro-san's team."

Damn it all to Hell.

* * *

When I arrived, Kankuro looked half-dead, Ukyo's eyes just rolled to the back of her skull and both Hideki and Usui were unconscious. I eyed them all before suddenly rushing over to Usui, eyes wildly searching him. Squinting at his stomach, I reached forward and tore open his ragged shirt. Beneath his flesh, something rolled and twitched. Behind me, Chiko gasped at the sight and Kankuro pushed himself to weary feet, somehow making his way to us.

"Kankuro, move back," I ordered tensely, pointing two fingers and molding my chakra into the form of a scalpel. Kankuro didn't abide my order and Chiko tried to wrestle him away. Usui's flesh rumbled violently before exploding in a macabre explosion of chunks of flesh, blood and other fluids. The gore rained over us, coating the three of us in poisoned blood and ruined flesh.

Chiko screamed at the sight and I heard the sound of something splintering. Bone. Bone splintering and cracking. Desperate to save the young Genin, my scalpel melted away and I dove in, sinking my hands into the gaping hole in his chest. Chiko was still screaming and Kankuro was shouting but I ignored them both as I maneuvered my fingers around his insides, finding the ribs that were breaking.

The smell of rotted flesh and poison almost made my head spin but I pushed past it, grasping blindly at his insides until I felt something that didn't belong in there. I grabbed at it, digging my nails and using my chakra to separate it from Usui's insides. With a powerful tug, I yanked my arm out. Wriggling and thrashing in my hand was that same poisonous worm I'd pulled out of Matsuri many months ago. Only, this one was larger. It resembled a snake instead of a harmless worm.

With my free hand, I reached into my holster and pulled out a kunai. I slammed the snake-worm hybrid into the wall and plunged the kunai into its' head, pinning it there. It thrashed violently and then came to a still.

Whipping back around, I faced Usui and nearly jumped away in shock. His eyes were wide open and he was staring at me. He opened his mouth to speak, probably to whine but was silenced as thick black gunk sputtered from his mouth. He choked and gagged before going very still. I leaned over him, chakra frantically pulling at the poison gunk polluting his body.

Usui was gone. I knew it but my emotions ran wild as I desperately tried to bring him I back. There was too much poison. It festered for too long. I hadn't been quick enough. Reigning in my emotions, I left the still body for Hideki. He was still breathing but there was one in him too. Byakugan rising, I searched his body and found the thing slithering around in his though.

Chakra scalpel readied this time, I slit open his thigh and dug around, trying to capture the smaller worm. The worm bit my finger, causing me to hiss in discomfort. I wouldn't relent, not while the thing roamed around Hideki's body.

Finally slipping my fingers around it, I jerked it out, more blood and thick gunk coming out. I shoved the worm at a horrified Chiko. I bent over Hideki, determined to save him from sharing Usui's face. My chakra pulled and yanked, dragging the poison out of his body in thick globs of black waste. The sacs of poison dropped at my feet as I worked tirelessly to save the youngest Mikawa.

The screaming and shouting had died down by the time I was finished healing Hideki. Chiko had found a container for the blood-covered worm. I turned towards Kankuro and Ukyo and found nothing rolling around their bodies. Ukyo most likely passed out from exhaustion or shock and I wandered over to her, checking her over. She was bruised and scraped but no life-threatening damage had been dealt to her.

Disappointment as her medical Sensei washed over me. She should have at least been able to ward off the poison that threatened her teammate and brother's life. The poison that eventually took her brother's life. I turned to Kankuro, frowning softly. "Chiko, move Hideki and Ukyo into a private room," I ordered softly. The young nurse glanced at me, sadness evident in his blue eyes and nodded. Summoning a clone of herself, she began to move the young shinobi away.

Kankuro caught me by my arm as I moved towards the carcass of the hybrid. His eyes were focused on Usui but he spoke to me. "What about Usui?" He asked in a hard voice. I looked to him, still frowning softly. I knew what this was. I knew why he asked an obvious question like that.

"Usui is dead, Kankuro."

* * *

Hideki and Ukyo slept into the day, giving me the chance to storm Gaara's office once more. Covered in Hideki's blood and the remnants of Usui, I threw the doors open and stomped in. The redhead looked up slowly and then pushed himself away from the desk, eyes wide. He searched me frantically as I approached me and then came around his desk to get a better look at me. "What the hell have you done now?" Gaara asked after a long moment of taking in my apperance.

The blood and fluid had dried now, clotting around the lower-half of my face, down my neck to the front of my shirt and on my hands. I only eyed him with tired eyes, really not in the mood for an argument but figuring it might turn into one. "Kankuro's team returned," I said instead of answering. "I don't know where you sent them or what you sent them for but it was obviously a failure. I've got two unconscious Chunins laid up in the hospital and one dead Genin, Gaara," I began to say, voice rising.

"Xin..."

"No, no, on second thought, where did you send them? Where? Did you send them to Kiri, Gaara? After what happened to Matsuri with that damn poisonous worm, did you send them to the place that breeds them?"

Gaara didn't answer but that didn't stop me from becoming near-hysterical.

"Usui is still a Genin. He shouldn't have been sent along with them, team or not! He's not on their level, not being able to advance past being a Genin should have told you that but you still sent him anyway!" I was shouting at this point, losing my cool. I couldn't understand my hysterical anger over Usui's fate. I killed children his age in the past. I killed children younger than him and hadn't felt a thing for them. I had been the reason my beloved team had breathed their last breath and hadn't felt this upset or angry by it.

So why? Why was I acting this way?

My vision blurred and I realized in horror that I was crying through my hysterics. The tears rolled down my cheeks, becoming discolored as they met the drying blood and gore decorating the lower half of my face. Gaara was staring at me, probably just as confused as I was. He'd probably never even encountered a sobbing female. Well, maybe he had when he was mindlessly killing random people. He'd probably never encountered a sobbing female that he had relations with.

Hm...scratch that, Matsuri was probably a cryer.

He was probably confused because it was _me _crying. In the months I had been here, I never once shown this sort of reaction to him. Every reaction he'd gotten out of me was either anger or confusion. There was never any crying. "I...I _couldn't save him," _I finally uttered, bowing my head. The tears came faster, harder, as I realized that was the root of my problem. I was an accomplished medic. I've dealt with poisoned victims before. I saved people from the brink of death.

And yet, Usui had slipped through my fingers.

My hands came up to cup my face as the tears came harder. I pressed my hands harder into my face, the scent of Hideki and Usui's dried blood drowning me. I had to get myself together. Ukyo would awaken soon and would have to informed of her brother's death and reprimanded for her failure.

Arms suddenly coiled around me, throwing me off guard. Well, this was new. Hugging and comforting was not something that was normal in our relationship. You know what? At this point, I wasn't sure what was considered normal and what wasn't. I welcomed it though, sinking into his warm embrace as I cried like a child. "Usui is dead, Usui is dead," I kept repeating over, both angry and saddened by my failure to save the boy. Gaara rubbed soothing circles into my back while his other hand reached up to sink into my hair.

It had been such a long time since I was comforted like this. I might have been a Genin being comforted by Lena. I had a breakdown back then, frustrated to tears by my family's mistreatment of my sister and I. I remembered my anger had turned into frustration and then the tears sprang free. I had thought my aggressive Sensei would hit me for showing such weakness. After all, my family's attitude towards Hinata and I were old news by then. I couldn't quite remember what had happened to cause me to cry but I had sobbed. And instead of hitting me, Lena had wrapped long arms around me while scratching soothingly at my scalp.

Gaara's embrace was a lot like my dead Sensei's embrace but then it was also different. It felt more intimate. I slipped into his body different than I had when I was a thirteen year old hugging my Sensei. He smelled different. He felt different. My thoughts were beginning to disturb me so I pulled at my emotions, pulling them back to me and slipping a tight band around them. The tears ceased, leaving my face a weird mess of gore and tears.

"Uh," I twisted away from him to wipe at my eyes, nearly getting blood flakes in them. He noticed my dilemma and reached up, hands cupping my face. His thumbs stroked the tears away softly. "I...I didn't mean to break down like that," I muttered as he wiped the last of my tears. Gaara quietly nodded, letting me go as I backed away. "I...I should get back to the Hospital. The kids should be waking up soon and Usui's body has to be prepared," I continued to mutter.

Again he nodded but reached out, catching my hand before I could retreat. He stared too deeply into my eyes, making me even more uncomfortable. "Before they wake," He started to say, deep voice breaking me from my thoughts. "Clean up. Usui's blood..."

I rolled my lips together, the flakes getting into my mouth. I nodded slowly and pulled out of his grip. "I'll see you later," I uttered almost pitifully before turning away and hurrying back to the Hospital.

* * *

"Their parents have to be informed."

Kankuro and I sat outside Hideki and Ukyo's hospital room. Despite me ordering Kankuro to go home and get some rest after taking care of him, he insisted on staying until his students woke up. The large brunet eyed me tiredly. "They don't have parents," He stated blandly. "They died during Suna and Oto's invasion on Konoha," He continued to say. By this point, I was too tired to bristle at the mention of Suna's betrayal years and years ago.

"Oh," I hummed, sounding just as tired as him.

"Their Uncle looks after them," Kankuro said after I had closed my eyes. I hummed again although I made no move to verbally reply. "We'll tell him after they wake up," Kankuro continued to say, not even bothering to ask if I wanted to go along with him. It was quiet for another hour before we heard shuffling behind the closed door. We both shared wary looks and slowly made our way to our feet. Kankuro entered first and I followed after, closing the door behind us.

Ukyo was sitting up while Hideki was still slouched over. Her dark blue eyes found us, clouded over in slight confusion. I kept my face still of any emotions, knowing what was to come. "Kankuro-Sensei, Xin-Sensei," She greeted, eyes glancing in between us. Hideki only sluggishly waved from his bed, exhausted more than Ukyo.

"Did...did you get it out?" He asked slowly, eyes slightly fearful. I looked at him, lips pursed in thought. He'd been awake and fully alert when that damn worm violated his body? Then Usui had also been awake. They knew those things were inside of them.

I blinked hard, trying hard to control my emotions. "I did," I answered simply, nodding slowly. Relief washed over his face and he nodded back before snuggling into his pillow. Ukyo glanced around the hospital room, confusion becoming more evident.

"Where's Usui?"

Kankuro and I glanced at each other and I furrowed my eyebrows. He gritted his teeth and turned back to his team. "Usui...Usui is gone," He said after a long moment. Ukyo's eyebrows knitted together and the confusion finally found it's way over Hideki's face.

"Gone where, Sensei?" Hideki asked.

I sighed heavily, rubbing my temples. "Usui has passed. He is no longer alive," I uttered in the softest voice I could. Relaying the death of a loved one was never an easy thing to do. Especially to young children. It was silent as the words sunk in. Hideki's face twisted up into confusion before his eyes widened. He slowly turned, looking towards Ukyo.

Ukyo's face crumpled as her eyes found mine. "How?" She asked with a quivering lower lip. I blinked hard, mouth open but said nothing. I slowly shook my head.

"Ukyo—"

"_How?"_

I sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of my nose. "The creature that was forced into the boys were poisonous. The one in Usui was more cultivated, bigger, more deadly. It ate at his insides and pumped him full of poison before bursting out of his chest. I'm not sure what killed him. The poison, burst or the sheer shock of it all."

Hideki's face cringed considerably and Ukyo finally broke. She folded into herself and openly sobbed. I did not offer her comfort. "I couldn't stop it from getting in him. I...I couldn't get my scalpel to sharp enough and...and I was afraid that I would hurt him if I used a kunai knife," She admitted through her tears.

I stared at him and grabbed Kankuro when he moved to comfort her. He turned to glare a me but I offered no words. "Ukyo, I want to talk to you privately. Come with me, your injuries are more shallow than Hideki's injuries," I stepped back towards the door. Despite sobbing like a banshee, she heeded my orders and followed me out. I knew Kankuro was frustrated that I hijacked this whole thing but a her medical instructor, I had to step in and reprimand her. I knew Kankuro wouldn't do it.

I pulled her into an unoccupied room three doors away and watched as she cried into her hands. "That's enough," I ordered sternly, watching as she flinched away. She sniffled and rubbed at her face, trying hard to stop the tears. "I've told you about those worms."

"Yes."

"You knew they were in your brother and your teammate and you allowed fear and panic to overtake you, clouding your judgment and precision," I continued sternly, pointing out her mistakes and bringing them to the surface. Ukyo only nodded.

I leaned forward, finding her watery gaze. "This is what I meant when I asked if you had it in you, Ukyo. Medical ninja do not let their emotions get in the way of saving someone. We're not allowed. We can't afford it. Usui is dead and he is not coming back. Is that entirely your fault? No. _But _if you controlled your emotions better, he would be recovering with you guys. By the time you all made it to me, his fate was sealed and there was nothing I could do but watch him die."

The young kunoichi flinched at my words but this was our harsh reality. She tried hard not to let any more tears slip, I could tell. Instead, she nodded vigorously. "I understand, Sensei. I understand."

Frowning sadly, I wrapped my arms around her, pulled her to my chest and allowed her to cry for the loss of her twin brother.

* * *

Ukyo and Usui's Uncle was an old drunken pervert that I had the misfortune of speaking to before Usui's funeral. Bando was his name and I didn't like the way his eyes roamed over Ukyo or myself. Ukyo and Usui lived on their own in a little apartment and Bando was supposed to check up on them periodically. According to Ukyo, he only showed up after they got paid for whatever mission that they completed. He took half their earnings and squandered it away on booze.

I was not pleased with the thought of the old man moving in with Ukyo now that she would be completely alone. He reeked entirely of stale sake and if he wasn't staring at Ukyo's developing body, he was ogling mine. He went in to hug Ukyo at some point and that's where I lost my tolerance for the man. What was meant as a hug to comfort her turned to inappropriate brushing that had Kankuro yanking the young girl away from him.

Not even thinking twice, I grabbed the old man by the side of his face and slammed his head into the wall of the funeral parlor. The funeral director watched in muted horror as Bando's head went through the wall. I turned to the director, smiling politely. "Bando-san will be paying for those damages since he caused it," I slapped him hard on the back. "Isn't that right?"

While Kankuro seemed unfazed, Ukyo was shocked as we left her Uncle there to continue making the arrangements. When it was all said and done, we guided her out into the hot sun. "You're not staying with him," I stated evenly as we integrated into the crowd.

Ukyo remained quiet. "Ukyo, why didn't you tell me your Uncle treated you like that?" Kankuro asked with a hard frown. I noticed in slight amusement that his arm was still slung over her shoulder. "I knew he was shitty but I didn't know he was pissing all your money away and acting that way towards you."

Ukyo only rolled her lips together. "Usui was always there to keep him away from me."

An uneasy silence settled over us as her words sank in. With Usui gone, who would protect her from her Uncle's lingering stares and prying eyes? I glanced down at her, sighing softly. Something had to be figured out. I was still brooding over Ukyo's situation as Jura and Asuna came to the office. With the months flying by, Asuna was finally beginning to show. She wasn't bulging or anything but she was developing.

"Is something wrong, my Lady?" She asked as I lost my focus. I blinked hard and looked at the two of them. They were staring at me with curiosity brimming from their eyes. I leaned back in my chair and puffed my cheeks out.

"I'm afraid Ukyo's uncle might molest her now that Usui isn't there. She can't afford to live by herself and he offered to move in with her but...I met him earlier and...well...I slammed his head into a wall."

Asuna blinked her big pretty eyes at me, probably still unaware of my short temper and violent ways. Her brother was used to this by now and didn't offer much reaction. "He's probably scared of you now," He stated simply.

"He should be, old perverted ass."

The oldest Mikawa frowned sadly as I revealed Ukyo's living situation. She glanced at her brother before seemingly nodding to herself. I quirked a brow at this, slightly curious as to what she looked so determined about. "She can live with us," She stated after a long pause. Jura glanced down at his older sister and even I tilted my head to the side. The Mikawa family was a little big to begin with and with Asuna's husband traveling here and the baby on the way, their house was probably crowded.

"Uh," Jura floundered. "You sure about that Susu?" He asked slowly. By now Asuna had given up on telling her siblings not to use that nickname publicly. I had told her time and time again that it was no big deal. It was a cute nickname.

"We've known Ukyo and Usui since they were kids, Jura. Before their parents died, they watched over Hideki, Hatsune and you while Kyo and I were out on missions when our parents died. It's only right that we return the favor. Besides, Genji will be here soon and we plan on moving to a small home to raise our child."

I nodded along to her reasoning. "Where's Genji coming from again?"

Asuna smiled at the mention of her husband. "He's traveling from Kiri."

"Kiri?" I echoed, staring at her. Asuna only nodded, still smiling. I laughed nervously and tapped my fingernail against the desk. "He'll have to travel through the Land of Fire then, hm?" I tried to mask my paranoia. Asuna nodded once more, feeding into my attempts at making small talk. I had an itching feel the sudden collection of poison worms had something to do with the rogues in black who were determined to kill Gaara. And me by association. I needed more proof though, Gaara wasn't going to believe my paranoia.

I continued with Asuna's checkup, wryly pointing out that she didn't need so many checkups. She just had one two or three weeks ago. She was coming along perfectly fine and was the picture of perfect health. They quickly left, intending on finding Ukyo with the invitation to move in with them. I smiled after them, glad that there was some good people left in this world. I had the thoughts of allowing Ukyo to come live with us, we had the room, but I wasn't sure if we'd be able to keep up our marriage-charade with her living with us.

"What a week," I grumbled to myself, feeling the fatigue finally catching up with me. I dropped my head to the desk. Shifting so that the side of my face was pressed into the desk, I tiredly stared at the piles of forms I still had to fill out. Notably, Usui's death certificate. "Life was so much easier when all I had to do was hunt someone down and slaughter them," I continued to grumble to myself, slowly sitting up. "Especially when I could dump all the paperwork on others. Like Sakura...god I miss her."

It took me all night to catch up on all my work. "Is this how Tsunade feels?" I mumbled to myself, finishing the last document for the night. I roughly massaged my temples and glanced towards the clock, noting blandly that it was going on two in the morning. "Ah...missed dinner," I pursed my lips and dug my feet into my sandals, standing up. Stretching my arms above me, I sighed heavily when I heard some of the bones cracking. I glanced at the paperwork and shrugged one shoulder, figuring I'd just deliver it to the head medic in the morning.

I silently made my way through the hospital's second floor, stopping in the middle of the corridor. Slowly I turned to look out the window, frowning softly. Something was...ringing? My ears were ringing. I stepped closer to the window, biting my lower lip. Something outside shifted in the darkness and I only had seconds to back up when the window exploded in a rain of glittering glass. I hissed and cursed as some of the shards pelted me, puncturing my skin.

The shadow swept in, colliding into me and slamming me into the wall. I hissed through clenched teeth and sank down to my ass, darkly staring at the figure standing over me. Underneath the dark clothes, they were female. I frowned in anger, feeling the stinging from the small wounds created by the shattered glass. "I'm going to beat your ass."

The rogue said nothing in return, jumping up with the intentions of slamming her feet into my body. I rolled out of the way, scrambling to my feet and staring at her. She landed without much of a sound and turned to face me, staring at me from behind her stupid black mask. I rolled my shoulders and jerked my head, cracking my neck and preparing myself. The woman in black charged at me, wielding a kunai with intentions of tearing my face open. I sidestepped her wild swings, grabbing her wrist and twisted her arm painfully around her back. She let out a shriek and fell to her knees as I applied more pressure.

Pulling harder, I jerked her hand and nearly stabbed her in the back when the other window shattered. What I assumed was her teammate came sailing through towards me, forcing me to let her go and push myself backwards. "Come on," I sagged my shoulders and threw up my hands with an exasperated sigh. It wasn't like I was going to back down from this, there was no such thing as backing down. Backing down meant death.

What was pissing me off was these lunatics and their fixation on attacking the hospital. What was so hard about realizing there were sick and injured people here? We still hadn't even paid for all the medicine and equipment we lost during the explosion.

Working quickly, I ran at the new arrival to the fight, jumping up and straight-legging him in the chest. Not ready for the direct kick to the chest, the rogue flew out the shattered window. Hearing the footsteps of his partner running towards me, I spun and caught her by the arm, jerking her forward to kick her squarely in the face. Knowing she was disoriented from the kick, I tossed her body out the window like a piece of trash. I took a moment to gather myself before jumping onto the sill, peering down into the night.

The two were in a heap, the male must have ran and used himself to cushion the female's fall. Scoffing, I pushed off the sill, having every intention of crushing them both underneath my shoes. The male noticed me and scrambled to wrap his arms around the female, rolling out of the way. I hit the ground, feet sinking down as the Earth gave away to my chakra-infused feet. Growling, I dug myself out of the mini-crater to narrowly squat down, avoiding having my head lobbed off by a katana.

I spun, leg stretched out to sweep the attacker off his feet. I sprang to my feet and lifted my leg straight up, swinging it down in an unforgivable stomp. The attacker let out a strangled cry under my foot, wheezing and gagging in vain to catch his breath. The woman flew at me then, spearing my side and throwing me to my back. We struggled in the sand, fighting for control.

She landed a solid punch and caused an explosion of stars behind my eyelids. I felt my arms being wretched away suddenly and pinned down, causing me to grit my teeth as the woman straddled my middle. The woman dug around in the large satchel pinned to her waist. I stared at her motions, not sure what they were planning.

My eyes widened when she pulled out a large container out. The worm inside the canister was smaller than the one that had killed Usui but was still larger than the one I pulled from inside Hideki. It silently screeched from its' prison, slamming against it in a vain attempt to break free. "Open wide," She finally spoke and I paused, knowing that voice from somewhere. She reached forward to grab at my face, intending to shove the nasty shit into my mouth. I stopped my struggling and forced Chakra into my arms.

With a loud shriek of defiance, I broke out of the male's grip to savagely punch the woman with all my strength and chakra combined. She flew off with a strangled cry, landing somewhere away from me. I sat up and twisted around, grabbing the male by his head and jerked forward, bashing his face into the hard ground. I was sure he was out so I turned to his companion, still on the ground with the canister in her grip. Scowling, I stood up and made my way towards her. Slipping a kunai from my holster, I slammed the knife into her stomach and viciously ripped her open.

She screamed beneath me and attempted to move but stopped once I savagely punched her for the second time. I yanked the container out of her hand and smashed it open, grabbing at the wriggling poisonous creature. I plunged my fist into her open wound, shoving the creature into her. I yanked my blood-soaked hand out of her and slapped it over the wound, using my chakra to stitch the wound close, trapping the creature inside her. I smirked down at her as I watched terror fill her eyes. The realization was sinking in.

"Bet'cha didn't see that coming," I laughed and reached forward, grabbing the mask and slipping it off. I frowned down at the face staring back at me. "I feel like I should know you," I frowned in confusion. "Okay, honestly, who are you?"

"Fuck you!"

I rolled my eyes. "Right. Whatever. Gaara probably knows you and your friend..." I glanced over my shoulder at the unconscious man lying there quietly. "Charming," I muttered while standing up.

What a long night.

_End P.O.V_

* * *

Gaara was furious when Xin dragged the two into his office at three in the morning. She remained oblivious to his obvious anger as she tracked blood all over the place. The Hyuga clanswoman simply threw the thrashing female forward without an explanation. "Kimi?"

The young woman was a sobbing mess, holding her chest tightly. Xin quirked an eyebrow and snapped bloody fingers. "That's your name, Kimi! God, for the life of me, I could not remember her damn name," She laughed at her forgetfulness. "You run errands for Gaara every now and then!"

Xin grinned, completely ignoring Kimi's sobbing. "S-She attacked us!" Kimi suddenly exclaimed in the middle of her wailing. "For no reason, Kazekage-sama. She...she almost killed us," She ranted through her tears. Gaara only stared in between the two females in slight disbelief over the spectacle in front of him. His small fiancee, covered in blood, dragging an unconscious man while a Suna kunoichi sobbed and screamed at her feet.

Xin's grin was gone but she remained too relaxed. She pulled at her earlobe, muttering about a busted eardrum thanks to all of Kimi's erratic screaming. "What?" She asked when Kimi paused to take a deep breath.

"You're not denying anything Kimi says."

"Well, I did almost kill him for sure. Her? She has a couple hours or so..."

"I don't have time for your bullshit, Xin. What happened?" Gaara demanded, standing up. He came around to check over Kimi but stopped when Xin's uncaring behavior dropped. Her eyes narrowed and she shook her head.

She squatted down next to Kimi. "Tell him the truth Kimi. I'll leave _it inside you_ if you don't," She uttered sadistically. Gaara watched the exchange with confusion, not sure about what was going on in his office.

"Answers. I want them now," Gaara growled, eyes flashing dangerously. Kimi's crying came to a sudden stop. Her eyes were wide in fear as she regarded the couple. It was maybe at that moment that she realized she had made the wrong choice. "Now, Kimi. I want them now," Gaara growled for the second time, breaking her from her regretful thoughts.

"We...we were sent to kill her."

"Why?"

Before Kimi could answer, the man Xin had dropped in heap roused. The Konoha native glanced over her shoulder, having completely forgotten about the man. She stood to her feet and rounded him, seizing him by the shoulders and sitting him up. "Don't...don't," He uttered as Xin pulled the mask away. She leaned over him, hair cascading down and hiding his face from Gaara's view. Her big lavender eyes clashed with his angry black ones as she blatantly stared into his face.

"Nah, don't know you."

Xin stood back to her meager height, allowing Gaara to study the newly revealed face. He only stared at the shinobi, scowling darkly. Perhaps he knew the shinobi by name, Xin wasn't sure. She also didn't care. Kimi had fallen silent under his words and that caused Xin to scowl not darkly but in annoyance. "Let me interrogate them," She suddenly said, her frown turning into a smile. "We know who they're associated with. Perhaps we can get some questions answered."

"That makes sense and everything but I worry that you'll kill them."

"I know what I'm doing, Gaara. Interrogations are fun, you know. And besides, this one," She pointed to Kimi. "Only has a couple of hours until the chest-buster makes an apperance."

"What are you talking about?" Gaara asked as Kimi started to silently sob. She could feel that thing crawling around her, spitting out sacs of poison and teething at her insides. Shuddering violently, she bowed over and hugged herself, crying a little quicker.

Xin eyed the sobbing woman, nudging her with her toe and snapping to attention with a sheepish look when Gaara cleared his throat. "Those poisonous worms are becoming very popular," She uttered, rocking back on the balls of her feet. "Kimi tried to make me swallow one tonight and I turned it around on her."

"You put one of those things inside her."

"That I did."

Gaara leaned against his desk, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Can you get it out of her?"

"If my questions are answered, sure."

"I'm being serious."

"As am I."

Gaara said nothing, calling for two Shinobi to escort Kimi and her partner to separate rooms. Xin only stood there, feeling like Gaara wasn't quite finished talking to her. "How bad are the damages?" He asked after a long pause between them.

"Two shattered windows and I might have made a crater. It's small, I swear," She crossed her fingers over her heart with a small grin. Gaara rolled his eyes and reached out, catching her blood-covered hand.

"Yours?"

"Kimi's. Although she did land a pretty good hit."

Gaara snorted. "Obviously," He replied with a dry hint of amusement. Xin's eyebrows knitted together and she tilted her head to the side. "Your cheek is bruised," He pointed out, hand creeping up. Her eyebrows raised at that. "Hurts?"

He prodded at her cheek with a gentleness she didn't know he possessed. She shrugged one shoulder, not at all bothered with the bruise. "Not really. I've been hit in the face with weapons harder than a fist. I'll live."

Gaara sighed, fingers still prodding at her bruised cheek. "You're a reckless woman," the tall redhead pointed out, leaning down and bumping his forehead against hers. She only smiled somewhat tiredly.

"Some of us have to be. You know, take risks and what not. All that heroic bullshit," She laughed softly when his hands cupped her face. He looked at her, blinked slowly and then eased his eyes closed. She quietly followed his lead, not sure if she appreciated the peace or not.

"You'd make a terribly crazy hero, Xin."

"Mm, yeah, you're probably right."

"Doesn't mean you would be bad at it."

"Glad you think so."

It was quiet for a couple of minutes before Xin reached up, grabbing his wrists. "Alright, I've gotta track them down and get some answers out. And _maybe_ get that thing out of Kimi," She smiled roguishly, eyes slipping open to watch his hairless brows crinkle in annoyance.

"Shut up, Xin."

* * *

"Satoru is your name, eh?"

The traitorous ninja glared at Xin tied her hair back into a ponytail. She stared him down, a casual look across his face. "Well, I've read your file so there's no need to answer that one, I guess," She hummed in that same casual voice. "But I will get some answers."

"Fuck off, Konoha bitch."

Xin rolled her lips and sighed heavily. "Like I haven't heard that before," She shook her head. "Now Gaara is pretty much against violence and all and he would prefer if I didn't use those methods on you..." She smiled. "But I will if I have to."

"I don't give a shit about you or that murderer you plan to marry."

"Ah, is that so?"

"Yes," Satoru hissed through clenched teeth. "Kimi..she's all I've got left after that monster ran rampant," He began to say, his eyes gaining a far off look. Xin only stared at him, one eyebrow quirked. "W-When we were younger.."

"Whoa, whoa," Xin held her hands up, smirking roguishly. "Listen, I'm running off of five hours of sleep, one cup of coffee and only two cigarettes. I really, _really_ don't give two shits about your sob story. Gaara killed everyone you love except for Kimi, got it, you hate him. That doesn't explain why you and your banshee of a partner tried to make me eat a poisonous worm from Kiri."

Satoru's crumpled expression vanished at Xin's harsh words. Seconds later, it was replaced with a vicious sneer. He stubbornly turned his head away, causing Xin to roll her eyes. "Men," She huffed, bringing Satoru's eyes back to her. He stared at her, eyes straying from her messy ponytail to her feet.

"You're just some ugly scarred up girl from Konoha. Are they really stupid enough to believe that you'll get anything out of me?" He scoffed, watching as she rolled her eyes again. "By the way, where did you get all of those scars, my Lady?"

"Isn't obvious?" She asked pleasantly. "They're souvenirs from my victims from the past," She answered as she rounded the table to stand over him. Her smile, although sweet, was bothering him. "How'd you get that broken nose?" She asked, leaning a little too close.

"What broken no—"

Xin seized the ninja by his hair, jerking his head back to brutally punch him in the nose. Satoru gasped in pain as his nose crunched under her fist, blood rushing down his nostrils to coat his lips. The small woman above him adjusted her grip in his hair and brought his head down, bashing his face into the table. "Careful now," her lips almost brushed against the shell of his ear, she was too close to him. "Wouldn't want you to drown in your own blood now, would we?" he could almost feel the curve of her sickly sweet smile against his flesh.

"Now, you're going to tell me what I want to know. I want a name, Satoru, I know you idiots aren't just uprising out of nowhere. This is planned and you're all following someone since dear Kimi told us you two were sent to kill me. So give me the name and I may just let you live," She ordered in a strict tone. Satoru breathed heavily through his mouth as the blood continued to gush from his nose. His growled and spat at her, refusing her urging. He heard her sigh heavily before she yanked him back upright.

"Being difficult? Well, that's alright. They always break, eventually. And besides, I love this part. I have to get so creative in order to get information. It's fun, you know?" Xin was still smiling as she reached for his hand, pulling from his side and pinning it to the tabletop. She reached behind her to pull out a kunai. He watched with bleary eyes as the weapon spun in her grasp, fingers hooking into the ring with practiced ease. Her playful spinning suddenly stopped as she clutched the ninja tool offensively.

The woman jumped forward, stabbing the blade into the table a centimeter away from the tip of his finger. She laughed softly at his sharp intake of breath. She pulled the blade out with a rough jerk and began casually knifing the table, always a centimeter off from each tip of his fingers. What made him even more nervous was that her eyes were trained solely on his as she made holes in the table with her weapon.

This woman was bat-shit crazy.

Suddenly the blade plunged into his pinky-finger, stopping halfway as he began to bleed. He let out a scream between clenched teeth. "Oh, oh dear," Xin puckered her lips and slid the blade out. She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth as blood gushed from the nearly severed appendage. "Still hanging on by a thread of skin, hm? Well..." Without warning, she plunged the kunai back into the pinky-finger, successfully severing his pinky from his hand. "Well, would you look at that," Xin mused as she picked up the pinky finger. She eyed it carefully and rolled it in between her fingers before drawing hearts in his blood with the tip of the pinky.

"One down. Nine more to go."

* * *

Kimi warily looked up when the door slowly opened. She expected her Kazekage to step through but visibly slouched when it was his tiny bride to be. She frowned at the midget, quietly imagining the most horrific death she could think of for the Konoha native. The sight of the woman's bruised cheek did ease her, causing her to smile softly. Kimi's smile dropped when she noticed how much blood Xin's hands were caked in. Before, only her right hand had been bloodied after plunging it into Kimi's body. A chill stabbed at her back, clawing its' way down her spine as Xin calmly sat down opposite of her.

"Alright, Kimi, as much as I love interrogations, it's nearly six in the morning and I have a funeral in seven hours. Plus, I'm supposed to be in at work in four hours to deliver those damn papers. Not to mention I agreed to help Ukyo move into the Mikawa's after the funeral..." Xin tapped a bloody finger against her chin.

"Is he alive?" Kimi suddenly blurted out, ruining Xin's train of thought. The woman glanced up at her, like she had forgotten Kimi was even there in the first place. Kimi shied away from her gaze, finding her nearly transparent eyes unnerving. Some had found the foreigner's eyes beautiful but not Kimi. She found them strange.

"Who?" Xin puckered her lips in amusement. "Ah, Satoru? Sure, he's alive. He just needs a helping hand is all. No worries, he's being monitored right now," She drummed bloodied fingers against the table and tilted her head to the side, smiling. Kimi actively avoided Xin's eyes, focusing on her bruised cheek. "I'm going to get straight to the point, Kimi," Xin suddenly said after a pause. "You and Satoru were sent to kill me and failed horribly. Now you've got a mutated creature in you, polluting you with sacs of poison and chewing up your organs. I managed to pull some information from Satoru and even left him alive, yay," She smiled and flexed her fingers.

"Now, all you have to do is match his story. Match his story and I'll get that thing out of you. However, if you lie or even refuse to spit out the information," She puckered her lips again. "I'll bring Satoru in here and make him watch you die from that creature in you. And then..." She shrugged one shoulder casually. "I'll probably slowly saw his head off or something. I'm still undecided on that part. He kind of pisses me off so I might make it a slow death."

Kimi pulled at her hair nervously as she thought about the thing scuttling around inside her. "We'll live if I tell you?" She asked softly, finally meeting Xin's gaze. God, that woman scared her.

Again, Xin shrugged. "I suppose. It's really up to Gaara, you know, since he's the Kage and everything. If it was up to me, well..." She trailed off, innocently rolling her eyes up to look at the ceiling. "Do I scare you, Kimi?" She asked suddenly. Kimi didn't answer, finding her lap more interesting. "Goddamn right, you should be scared of me."

The words chilled her to the bone. This woman was too sure of herself, knew she made people uncomfortable. She knew she did it and she reveled in it. This small, unassuming, woman was in complete and total control. And she knew it. This woman was more dangerous than any shinobi Kimi had met. Simply because she was so unassuming. She was short with a pretty face and a kind smile. She was soft and charismatic. Smiles easily found their way across her lips.

And she was a complete psychopath.

Xin suddenly leaned across the table, dark hair falling over her shoulders and pooling against the tabletop. "Well? Have we got a deal? I figure you only have an hour—if that before that mutant-thing's poison starts shutting down your body. Did you know your bladder is one of the first things to go when your body shuts down?"

Kimi could have passed out at that moment.

* * *

_Gaara's P.O.V_

I watched wearily as Xin stepped back into my office. She was covered in more blood than when she left and I already felt a headache pushing against my brain. "I told you not to kill either of them, Xin," I reminded her calmly.

She tilted her head to the side in question and then glanced down at her hands. She smiled then and came closer, pushing some things away so she could sit comfortably on my desk. "I didn't kill any of them. I just persuaded Satoru is all. It worked."

"Ah," I nodded my head.

She glanced out the window and fought off a yawn. Having insomnia my whole life, staying up through the night into the early hours of the morning didn't bother me. But Xin, on the other hand, slept like the dead whenever she made it to bed. Her bed? My bed? Our bed? _The_ bed. Good enough. "Does the name Masahiro mean anything to you?" She suddenly asked, turning her weird eyes on me. I held her stare and racked my brain for that name. She waited patiently, tapping a bloodstained nail against her knee.

"No, it doesn't." I decided after a full minute of thinking. "Should it?"

She shrugged casually, ignoring my pointed look. "It should now," She uttered simply after a moment. "It's kind of funny cuz' his name means justice prospers," Xin stated with a sudden laugh. "He's the ringleader of this entire uprising. I met him that night an exploding tag went off in my face. He didn't strike me for a Masahiro though. He seemed more like a Shin or Shinji."

"Get to the point, Xin," I stopped her before she could really go off into her rants. Once she got into those ramblings of hers, it was difficult—almost impossible—to shut her up. And if I learned anything about her these past couple of months, it was that Xin loved to ramble just as much as she loved killing.

"My point is," She huffed, probably annoyed that I didn't let her ramble. "Masahiro is the one ordering all these attempts on our lives. And you know why?" She leaned forward, strange eyes boring into mine.

"Because of something I did?"

"Because of something you did!" She echoed, leaning away to throw her hands up. "You, my lovely pain in the ass, killed someone close to Masahiro. Probably his Mother or his girlfriend or some stupid shit right in front of his eyes. Quite brutally too. All these years he's been stewing and plotting and wallah—we've got an uprising on our hands," She fanned out her hands for added effect.

"And you're involved because..."

"Christ, do I have to spell it out for you?" She asked brashly. I had the thought of shoving her off my desk but held off, figuring I should get the information from her and then shove her off. "A tit for tat, Gaara! You killed his girlfriend or Mother—I might have zoned out on that part—so now he wants to kill the person you supposedly love. Me."

"Right," I nodded along to her words, ignoring her obvious annoyance. "This is a revenge plot, nothing new," I said after several seconds of thinking things over. She rolled her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"You're too relaxed, considering you just found out someone's been plotting to kill you. Never mind the fact that he actually has a following, Gaara. People are dedicated to this cause. People want to kill you. You've fucked these people over years ago and they all want to kill you."

"My Father fucked me over when I was born and then plotted with my Uncle to kill me. After that, he plotted five more times to kill me."

I watched in obvious amusement as she deflated and rolled her eyes. "Really? That's seriously an unfair advantage. You can't just use your shitty childhood like that whenever you feel like it."

"You use your shitty childhood whenever you feel like it."

"I do not!"

The thought of bickering of shitty childhoods in a humorous way was mind-boggling. It oddly felt right, although right now was hardly the time to joke about said shitty childhoods. Xin obviously realized it as well because she paused to take a deep breath. "Whatever. Either way, we have our guy, we have our motive. All we need to do now is track him down and get rid of him."

"We? No. You. _You_ will not be tracking anyone down and getting rid of anyone. _You _will get that thing out of Kimi—because I know you haven't yet—and then _you _will go home to get some rest. _You _will take the day off from the hospital, attend Usui's funeral with us and then go with Temari to meet with the wedding-planner _you _insisted we hire."

She fixed her face to glare at me but I waved it off. "I don't care nor do I want to hear it. Go home, get some rest and get the idea of hunting Masahiro out of your head. I'm not sending you out there."

"But why?" Xin whined just like I knew she would. "Gaara, I'm a fuckin' sensor! I can literally track people down with my freakin' eyes!" She exclaimed while throwing her hands up again and motioning wildly to her eyes. Dramatic, as usual.

"I thought you were an ANBU member," I dryly pointed out. "Or was it medical ninja? Therapist?"

She crinkled her nose in what one might call cute. I, however, did no such thing. "Who knew you actually had a sense of humor," She threw out with a huff. She blinked, I noticed that she was blinking slowly. Sluggishly.

"You're tired," I said instead of firing something back for her jab at my sense of humor. "Forget about Kimi, I'll get someone else to handle it. Go home and rest. Actually. Shower first. You smell like Death. And not the usual scent of death that hangs around you."

"Oh, more of the apparent sense of humor you've been hiding," She snorted but slid off my desk. I watched as she slipped her feet into her sandals. "Word of advice," She suddenly said, brushing some hair away from her face. "I'd kill Satoru. Kimi, I scared the shit out of her. She can probably live but Satoru should die. He hates you."

"I'll keep that in mind."

She nodded and turned to look down at me, frowning softly. She rounded the desk to stand to my side, still staring at me. "Look, I know you don't think much of this whole revenge but would it kill you to just...I don't know...take care?" She uttered softly, a strange look of worry crossing her pale features. Her concern over my well-being was strange but it wasn't...unwelcome. I was used to my sister worrying over me. Matsuri and even on some occasion, Baki or Kankuro. Xin was a new addition to that. It was strange seeing as she mostly spent our time together cursing and threatening me. I didn't mind her sudden concern.

I, did however, sigh heavily. "I'll keep that in mind," I said, rising to my feet. She blinked, backing away and tilted her head back to look at me. "Come on, I'll walk you home. I should probably fill Kankuro and Temari in on this new development anyway."

Her face pulled in question but she simply shrugged, turned, and led the way out. She nearly fell down the stairs twice due to her sluggish reactions and by the time we made it out, I had her hand firmly gripped in mine. "Are you alright?" I asked as the sun began to peak over the horizon. She was staring at it, a thoughtful but tired look across her face. Slowly she turned to look at me, looking every bit of exhausted.

"M' fine," She managed to get out around her yawn. I simply nodded, slipping my hand out of hers to loop around her middle. She opened her mouth to protest my actions but remained silent once her meager weight fell onto me. The walk was surprisingly quiet and I chalked it off as Xin being too tired to open that hole in her face she called a mouth. Her feet had dragged the entire way and I'd almost picked her up. But that would probably get her going and I didn't need her screaming at six, almost seven in the morning.

Arriving home, Temari and Kankuro were searching for Xin. The midget was usually up and about, despite her, as she put it, shitty sleeping schedule. She muttered something about breakfast but I shook my head. "They'll be fine," I assured her, helping her to the staircase. We'd been living of off Temari's terrible cooking for years. We could get by on it for one day.

"Oi, Temari, I found Xin! And...Gaara? Gaara's home too!" Kankuro shouted, coming from the living. He heard Xin mumble, something along the lines of _'Oh God'_ before she pressed her face into my shoulder. "Oh, holy shit, Xin is covered in blood. Temaaaaari! Xin killed someone again. What was it this time, Xin? Someone breathed on you wrong?"

"You're breathing on me wrong."

Temari appeared from the hallway that led to the kitchen. She had probably started on breakfast. I frowned at the thought of her cooking. "You guys, it's way to early to argue and—what in Kaguya's name have you been doing Xin?" She stopped short once she got a good look at the blood covering Xin's hands and the bruise she had yet to take care of taking up the side of her cheek.

Xin grumbled under her breath and I sighed heavily. "I'll explain everything once Xin takes a shower and gets into bed," I turned to look at her, the statement almost coming out like an order. Usually Xin would snark about my 'Kazekage voice' but at this point, she didn't have the energy and only nodded.

"Fine but on one condition."

"Xin—"

"For Kaguya's sake, just carry me up the stairs and throw my ass in the shower before I pass out and sleep on the stairs!"

I knew nothing could keep her mouth shut for long. Taking a deep breath so that I wouldn't throw her somewhere, I gathered her in my arms. She coiled around me, sucking my warmth like a tic. Her eyes were half-lidded as I made my way to the upstairs bathroom. "I'm not undressing you."

"But whyyyyy?"

"You know why."

"Oh come onnnnn."

"You're whiny."

"When am I not?"

I actually laughed when I settled her down on the toilet. She leaned her face against the tiled wall and closed her eyes. "Only when you're sleep," I muttered, sitting on the lip of the bathtub. I eyed her as she lightly slept and shook my head, reaching forward to grab her leg.

She startled, eyes snapping open, Byakugan activated, and looked at me with a shocked look. "Uh," She blinked tired eyes and warded her Byakugan away. "What'cha doing?" She asked, pulling her leg away. I grabbed her around the calf and firmly pulled her back, settling her foot on my leg. Her face turned red and she eyed my hand, lips rolling.

"Taking your sandals off," I stated simply, slipping one sandal off. I looked down at her foot and frowned. "Black nail polish? Really?" I uttered dryly as she wriggled her toes. She smiled slowly.

"What? Don't you like black?"

I ignored her words and pulled her other sandal off. "Just wash the blood off and get in bed," I told her, dropping her legs back to the floor. She only waved at me, the only indication that she wasn't sleeping. "And don't fall asleep in the shower. If you fall and crack your head open, none of us know medical ninjutsu."

"Well, you're probably all too stupid to learn either way."

"Get in the shower."

I closed the door behind me but didn't move away until I heard the shower running and Xin muttering to herself. I stopped by the bedroom that was supposed to belong to the two of us to grab a change of clothes. Temari and Kankuro were in the kitchen and I quickly ducked into the downstairs bathroom to take my own quick shower. I didn't have time to really enjoy the shower and in less than ten minutes, found myself stalking into the kitchen.

It didn't smell like complete Hell, which kind of surprised me. Temari was infamous for her horrible cooking skills. But the kitchen didn't smell like complete and utter failure and the surprise was evident on my face. "Xin's been showing her around the kitchen," Kankuro stated as I sank down next to him at the table. I nodded in understanding. Well, one of Xin's redeeming qualities was her abilities to teach. Which was surprising because she was short-tempered and impatient. Two bad qualities when it came to teaching.

"Oh shut up. What's hard about cooking eggs?" Temari huffed as she brought the large skillet to the table, dumping fried eggs onto the three plates. She dumped the skillet in the sink and joined us, armed with a plate of toast and plate of sausage.

"I don't know Temari, you're the one who burned them the last time you attempted to fry them."

"Shut up and eat before I shove these chopsticks down your throat."

"Xin's good cooking isn't the only thing rubbing off on you."

I snorted into my mug of coffee (_how can Xin just drink this stuff like it's water?)_ as my older siblings continued to childishly bickering. "_Anyway," _Temari shot Kankuro one last evil look before turning to me. "What happened with Xin? Is she alright?"

"She's fine," I answered, carefully taking a the bite of the eggs. It didn't taste like acid. My sister could actually cook something without burning down the house. "Remember that uprising we talked about?" I started, glancing at the two of them. Temari silently nodded but Kankuro frowned, tilting his head back in thought as he tried to remember. Seconds later he looked back at me, snapping his fingers.

"When Xin's face was almost blown off by the exploding tag?"

"Yes."

They both nodded. "Tagaochi Kimi and Satoru attacked her and tried to make her eat one of those poison worms from Kiri," I stated, watching as both of their faces twisted up in confusion.

"Kimi? That's the errand girl that blushes every time you look at her, isn't it?" Kankuro asked after swallowing some toast. I only nodded. "They were in on this uprising? Well, shit. Can't trust anyone, can we?"

"So, the blood?" Temari prompted.

"Well, apparently she ripped Kimi open and put the worm inside her," I said, watching as their confusion turned into disgust. "And I allowed her to interrogate them both although I haven't seen what she's done to them. She said she didn't kill either them but had to physically persuade Satoru to answer her questions."

"Knowing her, she probably cut his leg off or some shit and hit him with it."

"She already used that method before, I doubt she'd do again."

"It's always something new with her," Temari muttered into her palm. "Did she tell you if she got her answers or not?" She asked as I listened to the upstairs bathroom's door swing open. I barely made out the sound of her feet against floor when I heard another door open and then close. I nodded, satisfied that she actually listened for once.

"Apparently this is all a revenge-plot. Someone by the name of Masahiro is gathering these people to rebel against me. Most likely because I've done the wrong in the past. I killed someone dear to Masahiro and he's been plotting this entire time. And because I killed someone dear to him, most likely a girlfriend, he's trying to do the same to me by killing Xin."

"You don't even love Xin," Kankuro stated blandly. True as it was, the statement bothered me. I knew I didn't love Xin. I was still trying to understand the concept of love. Loving Temari and Kankuro was different. That was a family love, a bond I had with kin. Xin was not kin. Xin was...strange.

"We know that but the public doesn't," Temari pointed out. "Moron," She muttered under her breath. Xin's temperament and habit of name-calling was definitely rubbing off on my usual peaceful but passive-aggressive sister.

"So what do we do?" Kankuro asked, either ignoring Temari's insult or he just didn't hear it to begin with.

I rubbed my temples. All I had was a name and that wasn't much. Perhaps I could get more out of Kimi. That is, if she knew anything else. Satoru hated me, according to Xin and I figured that Satoru would have to be taken care of. "I'll check if this Masahiro's file come up in our registry or even the Bingo Book. If we find a face, it'll probably be easier to track him down and have him dealt with," I stated.

"Just leave him with Xin, she'll probably want to gouge his eyes out and feed them to him since that explosion that almost took her face off. I have a feeling she that she can hold a grudge."

A strange feeling overtook me and I squared my shoulders. "I'm not letting Xin get involved more than she is. She's not going any where near Masahiro. Whether it's to track him down, drag him back here or torture him."

Their brows pulled in at my defensive words. "But those are like her top three favorite hobbies. You're really not going to let her do any of that?" Kankuro was half-joking but I knew there was some truth in his words. Temari was quietly chewing on a piece of toast. She didn't add any comment like she would usually would and that caused me to wonder what had her so quiet.

"She's not getting involved," I stated, my voice leaving no room for discussion. Temari was eyeing me in that way that told me she knew something I didn't know. I looked back at her but she only hummed and continued to chew on her toast.

"She's going to be pissed when she finds out."

I snorted. "When isn't that woman pissed?"

* * *

I didn't see Xin until the funeral. She arrived, looking a little weary but not dead on her feet like this morning. She sunk into my side without Temari having to shove her, wrapping her hands around my arm like she was told to do. She was dressed in a dress that might have been too tiny but it was black and it was probably the most appropriate black item of clothing she had. Her wardrobe had a lot of black in it but most of it was not appropriate for a funeral.

Ukyo tried to be strong and stone-faced during the service. But all it took was for Xin to lean over, whisper something in her ear, and suddenly Ukyo broke down into tears. Xin smiled sadly and rubbed her back. Apparently Xin did have a heart.

When it was over, Asuna and the rest of the Mikawa family took over. Apparently Ukyo was moving in with them. "Ah, well, there goes my afternoon," Xin hummed, coming back to me. "I don't have to help her move in and the wedding planner isn't meeting with us until five."

She frowned, sucking her bottom lip into her mouth thoughtfully. She chewed on it, thankfully not taking notice of my stare. I thought back to all those weeks ago when the Hospital had been attacked by that terrorist. I'd come to check on the inhabitants but I was specifically looking for her. Like a bomb exploding in her office could really kill her.

I expected her to be healing the injured or something along those lines only to find her wrapped in Sasori's arms. I didn't even know the two knew each other past Xin healing him when he first came back. I figured she had handed him off to another medic because according to Chiyo, her grandson was somewhat of a dick. Her words. Not mine. Knowing that and knowing Xin's short temper, the two weren't likely to cross paths. And yet, they there were, him wrapped around her like a boa constrictor. Maybe it was Shukaku goading me into removing her from his embrace or maybe it was just me.

But I had to get her away from him. So I did and we somehow ended up arguing in the middle of the living. Like we always did. She was getting under my skin, like she usually did. The Shukaku knew that and was using my anger and annoyance as a way to fight against my restraint. It was I either let him resurface and possibly rape her (_she claimed the last time he resurfaced_) or I just kiss her myself and hoped that would satisfy him. I expected her to put up more a fight. But she didn't and it almost turned into something I couldn't control.

And then Jura flew in.

To say that I was pissed was an understatement. A weird sort of rage overtook me. Because she her attention had been diverted because of another man. Sasori was barely enough and then Jura just had to run in. Fuckin' idiot.

After weeks of avoiding her, because I didn't want to explain why I (_in her words, most likely_) raped her face in the first place. I didn't want to explain that seeing Sasori's arms wrapped around her waist had made me want to rip his fuckin' arms off. After all, she did say I had no right to be jealous.

I was attracted to her, that much I was sure of. And besides, the Shukaku seemed to have this odd obsession that caused him to notice every little detail about her. Like how she smelled like death. Or how plump her lips were. Things like that, things that made me really study her and realize that yes, Xin was attractive. But I wasn't sure how I felt for her. It was hard. I was used to just dealing with my family and Matsuri's crush that I had no intentions of pursuing. They annoyed me in their own little ways but they didn't completely piss me off like Xin did. They also didn't barge into my office every day with lunch.

As cliche as it sounded, Xin was different. And I liked it.

I liked Xin.

And as she would say, shit.

* * *

We finally hit the 100 mark for reviews, yaaaay! What a lovely present for kicking off 2016! I don't have time to reply to said reviews but just know that I appreciate it and I'm reading everything you guys say, whether it's likes, dislikes or suggestions! Although I do wonder, does this story seem gory or graphic? Like the T-rating fit the story because I'm not really sure. And I tried taking a crack at writing Gaara's point of view. Hope it wasn't a failure. He's a tricky character.

Well, Happy New Years, guys. Let's make this a wonderful year filled with stories, reviews and more of Xin's psycho antics! Until next time!


	16. When you go, don't return to me my love

It was only around nine o'clock when Gaara returned home. He expected the house to be in full swing with the smell of dinner wafting through the air. Instead he was met with silence. That was…...different. Not that he wasn't used to silent houses. His home had been silent since practically the death of his Mother eighteen years ago. The tall redhead frowned and immediately felt around for his siblings' Chakra signatures.

Gaara only felt Xin's signature in the living room. Following her signature into the living room, he was slightly relieved to see Xin sprawled across the couch, sleeping. He wondered vaguely how long she'd been sleeping while he rounded the couch to stand over her. She did not stir nor twitch and he frowned at that. She slept too heavily. A trait that could seriously bite her in the ass in the future. Gaara dropped into a crouch, leveling his face with hers. He stared directly into her slumbering face, as if he was studying every little detail her face had to offer.

His eyes traced the scar at the corner of plump lips, leading up to equally scarred cheeks. There was a small scar along the bridge of her nose. Thick black lashes brushed against the top of her cheeks. He reached forward, smoothing her bangs away to study the scars across her forehead. Gaara wondered how many more scars the little woman was bound to receive. Marrying her and making her into a housewife was not going to work. She had made that clear. Numerous times, she had made it clear that she had no intentions of retiring to play his homemaker.

It wouldn't have fit her anyway, he figured. She was woman empowerment. She lived for the thrill, the adrenaline, the rush. And she wasn't going to give all of that up simply because he needed an image enhancement. He shouldn't have expected it of her. She had already sacrificed a lot by agreeing to this whacky scheme in the first place. He wasn't going to ask her to give her entire being up to please his council.

"You are a strange woman, Hyuga Xin. But you are kind. You are kind, despite you not believing that, you are kind," Gaara uttered quietly. He was determined to show her she was a good woman. She had done so many things wrong in the name of Konoha. For Konoha. He was once like her, maybe even worse. But he'd turn that all around. For the sake of his siblings, his village and for his own sake, he turned his life around. If he could do that, Xin could as well. She just had to want to turn her life around.

With that resolve in mind, he stood to his full height. He stared at her one last time sleeping peacefully before leaning over to shake her awake. It took a couple of shakes because as he's noted before, she sleeps like the dead. "Ughhhhhh," Xin groaned loudly, swatting at his hand. "What, what do want?" Xin whined, trying to roll away from his hand. She pressed her face into the cushions, sighing deeply. Sitting up, she rubbed at her messy hair before turning bleary eyes on him. "What?" She asked gruffly.

"It's almost ten o'clock at night, where's Kankuro and Temari?"

Xin's hand dropped from the back of her head to press to her face. "I'unno," she grumbled sleepily. "Oh, I think they might be over at the Mikawa's house," Xin stated thoughtfully. "I was already falling asleep when they decided to head over there after meeting with the wedding planner, whose psychotic, by the way," Xin stood, making her way out of the living room down the hall towards the kitchen.

"You're really calling someone else psychotic?"

"You really wanna start that argument right now?"

Gaara followed her into the kitchen, shrugging one shoulder. She yawned obnoxiously, pulling fish from the deep freezer. "He liked the colors I picked so I decided that he could continue living with his tongue in his mouth."

"You were going to rip his tongue out?"

"Right out of his head."

The young Kage hummed, accustomed to her devilish ways. He watched as she sighed again, rubbed the back of her neck and then began to prepare dinner. It was only seconds later that the front door opened and his squabbling siblings came into view. "Oh! You're home," Temari approached him from the back, smiling as she slipped by him into the kitchen. "And Xin woke up," She offered the younger woman a smile of acknowledgment. Xin only grumbled, waving one hand as she continued with working on dinner.

"Man," Kankuro shouldered his way by Gaara, patting him on the shoulder. "Anyone ever tell you that you sleep like the dead? That weird cat of yours was sleeping tucked into your neck and you didn't move at all," He snorted and dropped down at the dinner table. Ume, who was under the table, meowed loudly before making her way over to Xin.

Xin chuckled and then looked down, noticing Ume curl about her feet. "Dad told me I was gonna get myself killed out on a mission one of these days cuz' I sleep so heavily," She puckered her lips, probably remembering the conversation. They were slightly surprised that she brought her Father up, usually she was tight-lipped about anything involving her strict family. Temari frowned in particular, remembering when Xin told her about her lack of parental love.

But Xin only smiled. "He kind of made a game out of it, I think. The longer I took to wake up, the longer I had to practice what I hate practicing. Meditation, Genjutsu, squats. Something Lena-sensei suggested to him one evening. Evil woman," her smile was oddly fond. Ume clawed at her pants, begging for the fish she could smell. Xin absently waved her away as the siblings began preparing the table and the teapot. Before long, she finished cooking and they all gathered around the table. Ume settled at Xin's feet, using the woman's foot as a pillow.

"What was your Mother like?" Xin asked halfway into dinner. The question caused their conversation to come to a lull. Xin didn't seem too bothered by their heavy gazes. She glanced between the three of them from over her mug. "I kind of got a gist of what your Father was like," she pointedly glanced at Gaara.

"Her name was Karura," Temari said first. Xin's eyes rolled from Gaara to look Temari. "She was very kind, perhaps too kind. It evened out well with our Father though. He used to say I was a lot like her. Peaceful but very firm. I really don't remember all that much but our Uncle spoke very highly of her."

Xin nodded along to Temari's short explanation. "I'm sure she was lovely," she hummed after a moment's pause. They did not speak of parents for the rest of dinner.

_Xin's P.O.V_

One thing I never bothered with was thoroughly exploring the sand siblings' home. As big as it was, I only knew of our bedrooms, two bathrooms, the living room and the kitchen. Oh and that one time I fell into the basement. Besides that, I had no idea what was behind the millions of doors. As Temari and Kankuro bickered over doing dishes, I made my way out into the hallway only to be stopped by Gaara. He caught me by the wrist and I jerked to a stop. Quirking an eyebrow, I glanced at him. "Yes?"

He looked thoughtful as he regarded me. Normally I would've yanked my hand away while scowling at him. Don't touch me, I would say. Instead, I patiently waited for him to gather his thoughts. Although I did twitch a couple of times. Gaara suddenly pulled me along, maneuvering through the house easily. We came down a hallway I didn't know existed and I frowned at that. I could get lost in this house if I didn't pay attention.

We came to a door that I was obviously unfamiliar with and that caused me to glance at Gaara. He wasn't looking at me though, he was just staring at the door. He was still holding my wrist and I slightly nudged him, unsure of the whole point of any of this. Gaara glanced at me after I nudged him with a look across his face that I couldn't read. He turned back to the door before opening it to lead me inside. It was a relatively small room, nothing too spectacular.

But across the room was a Shrine decorated with the prettiest flowers I tended to see around the village. The candles weren't currently lit but the incense sticks were lit. There was several offerings set out and the room pleasantly smelled like cinnamon. The cabinets were open and nestled in the middle of it was a picture of a woman with sandy blonde hair. She was smiling softly.

Karura.

I looked at Gaara again, the snarky or sarcastic words that were brewing died down the minute I realized this was his Mother's memorial. Vaguely I wondered if their Father had his own but decided now was not the time to ask. Gaara pulled me into the room, into Karura's room. I suddenly felt as if I didn't belong. I had no right to be in here. Despite that feeling, I dropped my head in a bow and clasped my hands together and recited a silent prayer to the deceased woman. His hand was still curled around my wrist.

It was quiet for a long time while we stood there. I rolled my lips together apprehensively before taking a deep breath. "Good evening, Karura-san," I greeted softly. My voice must have startled Gaara because I felt his grip around my wrist tighten. "My name is Hyuga Xin and I'm from Konoha," I licked my lips, his tight grip was almost comforting. "The circumstances are a little funny but I'll be marrying your son very soon. And I know we're not the best….couple," I paused, laughing softly at the thought of us actually being a couple.

I felt his grip around my wrist loosen and then his fingers sliding into my palm. I flexed my fingers and pulled my hand away. Reaching back out, I slipped my hand in his, fingers interlocking. "We're probably the strangest couple you've ever seen," I started to talk again, tongue rolling across my top lip nervously. "But if you could give us your blessing, I think it would mean a lot to Gaara. And to me as well."

It was quiet again and I didn't even realize Gaara was now staring at me. We stood there for several more minutes when Gaara decided it was time to go. I followed after him, gently wishing the deceased woman a good night before easing the door shut. The hallway was quiet as we stood there for a long time before I broke it with a big smile. "I think she likes me."

* * *

Weeks went by and they turned into months and before I even realized it, the wedding was slowly but surely creeping up on us. "Oh, Christ," I muttered, drumming my fingers against the desk. I was going to be a married woman very, very soon. I already knew what the council was eager to suggest once we were officially married. They weren't at all subtle in asking me how I felt about children and babies and toddlers and what not. They asked frequently about my lineage, my bloodline, my Byakugan.

They were terrible at fishing for answers. Baki had quietly pointed out that my frequent mood shifts made them nervous. They didn't want to ask upfront about having children. The thought of having children made me snort. Any children from Gaara and I would probably be evil, mean little motherfuckers. I could imagine little redheads running around with weird lavender eyes. Or maybe little bluenettes running around with weird cyan eyes. Wrecking havoc and causing turmoil while wielding sand or even the Hyuga's Juken.

A slow smile curved across my face.

"That smile smells of evil, Sensei," Ukyo suddenly broke through my thoughts. My fingers stopped their drumming as I glanced over at her with a thoughtful look. Ukyo seemed rather driven after the death of her brother, Usui.

I think she was determined to have him live on through her. She was determined to make him proud. Proud that she was still alive. Proud that she hadn't stopped her life just because his had been cut short.

"A smile can smell of evil?" I pursed my lip in amusement.

"Well, I think only yours can."

I snorted at her her smart mouth and reached over, playfully cuffing the side of her head. She whined while trying to ward my hand away. My hand fell away, a laugh bubbling past my lips as she whined and fussed at me. It seemed suddenly so oddly familiar and then I realized. My relationship with Ukyo was slowly building into that of the relationship I once shared with Lena.

It was never spoken out loud but I think I was her favorite. She would pick on me ruthlessly and I would fuss and whine at the treatment but silently enjoyed it. Lena would laugh this pretty laugh while I blushed and cursed under her attention.

It was odd. I recalled Gaara suggesting that I was like Lena after telling him a little bit about her. At the time, I huffed at the thought of being like Lena. But perhaps he'd make a valid point.

"I should visit Lena and the girls…." I suddenly said thoughtlessly, catching Ukyo's confused expression at the last second. "Ah, my team. They died two years ago, we were very close," I explained while leaning the side of my head against my fist lazily. "I think I should visit Konoha. Someone has to clean their graves, they're probably filthy and you know Konoha has this wonderful weapons shop...what's your choice of weaponry, Ukyo?"

The brunette frowned thoughtfully and then shrugged. "Medical ninjutsu?" She asked lamely. "Kunai?"

I snorted and shook my head. "Looks like we're going to Konoha," I grinned.

* * *

Gaara wasn't too keen on me traveling to Konoha at first. Maybe it had something to do with the lunatics running around after our lives. Oddly enough he decided to send Jura and Sasori with us. That was weird, seeing as how he didn't particularly like Sasori. And neither did I. I rubbed the back of my neck and thumbed through my closet. I came to the long skirt and purple crop top that I was known to wear in Konoha. I frowned at the outfit, pinching it in between my fingers.

Sighing, I pushed it to the side. That outfit was a sign of my allegiance to Konoha. That was the outfit I chose to wear when I wasn't dressed in the ANBU outfit. With this marriage coming up, my ties with Konoha would be severed. I was no longer considered a Konoha kunoichi. I hadn't been a kunoichi of Konoha for quite some time, I just hadn't acknowledged it. But, reality was setting and it was time to face it.

I picked through my closet while frowning in thought. Then at the very far end of my closet I noticed a traditional dress, not unlike a kimono but still different. It was made of silk with the torso of the dress being a light purple, too light to be just purple but still too dark to be lilac. Lavender maybe? The sleeves were long and purple. The skirt was also long, sweeping around my ankles and only a shade of purple off from the sleeves. A collection of black flowers started at the bottom of the skirt and slowly led up.

I was never too fond of flowers, especially after Ino had poisoned me with one of her freaky flowers. But the dress was pretty and my mind was already whirling with ideas to truly make it my own. Smiling girlishly, I dug around the bottom of my closet and found my sewing kit.

_End P.O.V_

* * *

"Sensei, where did you get that outfit?"

The sun had not yet greeted Suna when Xin made her way into Gaara's office. She was a little startled that she nearly entered Gaara's office without noticing Ukyo standing just outside his doors. "Ah? Oh, uh, I made it. Well, it was a dress originally but I made some changes. Is it ugly?" Xin asked, stopping to look down at her new outfit.

The dress had been changed into two pieces. The top had been sheared into a crop top _(those seemed to be her favorite) _that looked somewhat like a jacket now. The top hung loosely over her chest, exposing the underside of her breasts. She wore a thin mesh bra underneath that gave her some modesty but still allowed the underside curves of her breasts to be shown. The skirt was still long, sweeping around her ankles like she had presumed. Only now it wrapped around her waist like a sarong, exposing her right leg entirely. The remaining scraps of the dress was used as a cloth belt, tied around her hips and keeping the skirt in place.

Even her hair was different. It had grown back to nearly its original length. Her hair spilled down her back, the very ends of her hair gathered into a thick braid. Ukyo wondered if she'd ever have the courage to dress like the older woman. The young Chunin suddenly took notice of the hitai-ate wrapped around Xin's right thigh. The cloth was black and the metal plate did not bear Konoha's symbol. It was Suna's symbol. For some reason or another, Ukyo thought that to be a strange thing but good nonetheless.

"No, it's not ugly, Sensei," she finally said, slighted by the vast difference in Xin's body compared to her own. She still did not have the confidence but hopefully that would one day grow along with her body.

Xin smiled down at her, sleep still evident in face, and patted Ukyo on the head. "I'll just say goodbye to Gaara and then we'll meet with Jura and Sasori at the gates," She stated, hand still propped on Ukyo's head.

Ukyo only nodded and Xin stepped into Gaara's office. The redhead only glanced her way before looking back down before his gaze snapped up for a second time. "Where are your clothes?" Gaara asked dryly, slowly standing. Xin only frowned as she neared him, head slightly tilted.

"On my body?"

Gaara almost wanted to choke her but he happened to glance down, catching the black around her thigh. He regarded the hitai-ate coiled around her thigh quietly. She remained oblivious or just acted oblivious to his gaze. He leaned against his desk, pinching the bridge of his nose. He was conflicted. Conflicted because he wanted to choke the life out of her and possibly throw blanket over her body.

But there was another feeling deep in the pit of his stomach that gurgled as soon as his gaze caught the Suna hitai-ate secured around her thigh.

The thought of switching her team crept into his mind. He couldn't send Jura and Sasori with her. Jura clearly harbored a crush on her and Sasori...well he wasn't sure what Sasori felt for her but he knew he didn't like it. And for some strange reason, she remained oblivious to that. It seemed Xin couldn't comprehend that she was attractive and that it was unheard of for a man to develop any sort of feelings for her.

_"Because she's a murderer and she enjoys it,"_ Shukaku whispered. _"And because of it, she thinks herself to be no object of lust."_

Strange woman, she was.

"We'll only be gone for a week or so, mostly due to traveling. I don't intend to vacation there or anything like that. Just to see to my team's graves and to visit the weapons shop," Xin explained shortly, rubbing sleep from her eyes. Gaara studied her as she spoke. She was determined to turn her back to her family. Although the marriage had sunk in, the abandonment of her family had not. She was still stung from their betrayal and was determined to sever any ties she had left.

"Visit your family," He said simply. Her face pinched together at his words. "Your sisters, at least. They seemed to be genuinely happy that last time. Perhaps your Mother," He tried to suggest casually. He could see the argument just brewing across her face. Her lips pursed in anger at the thought of him trying to make nice among her traitorous family. The young Kage reached forward, grabbing her hands in his own. Xin's anger seeped away the minute his hands slipped around hers. She glanced up through thick lashes, a more soft frown across her lips.

"You can change, Xin," He offered. Her eyebrows pulled. "You are the way you are because of your parents. You are impassive to life because they were impassive to you," Gaara continued to speak in a low voice. Xin was staring at him, not exactly certain as to where he was going with this. His grip on her hands tightened and she glanced down at their joined hands. She did not look back up. "You don't have to be a murderer, Xin. You don't have to be psychotic and you don't have to enjoy taking the lives of others. You can be just a kunoichi, just a medic. Just a woman. But you have to want it."

It was quiet for several seconds as his powerful words settled in her. She was still staring at their hands, lips rolling together in inner turmoil. "Is that what you want?"

"Do you want that?"

She frowned softly, not looking like herself at all. It wasn't like her usual frowns. The ones that twisted and pinched her face right before she would launch into a tirade. This frown was slow, thoughtful and almost sad. Her lips twisted as she mulled over his words. "I don't know if I have it in me to change, Gaara," Xin finally admitted almost in defeat. She was still staring at their hands, teeth chewing relentlessly at her bottom lip.

She did. He knew she did. Gaara knew Xin was a kind person, she just wasn't sure how to be kind. She might be cruel and she might even enjoy her cruelty but she wasn't completely _heartless._ If she was heartless, she wouldn't have learned medical ninjutsu, a tool to save lives. She wouldn't have taken Ukyo under her care and treat her as she did. She wouldn't have shown kindness to his villagers like she did and she wouldn't have mourned the loss of Usui like she had.

Xin was cruel and sadistic but she wasn't truly evil in her ways. She was efficient in the art of Shinobi and had taught herself to enjoy it. It was the only way she knew how to cope. It wasn't really her fault. No one had been there to tell her the things she was doing were wrong. The things she did were encouraged. It's not like anyone wanted the missions she was taking. No one as young and talented as she was. Why would they want to mask their talents in the shade of blood and gore? Young Shinobi wanted to show their abilities off freely.

Young Shinobi did not want the missions that demanded an successful assassination. Young Shinobi did not want the stench of decay and death to hang over them like a storm cloud. In this era of shaky peace among the countries and specifically the Great Villages, there was no need for Shinobi their age to know the heavy hand of death. And yet here she was, with more death staining her hands than necessary. Gaara wanted to place the blame on someone, anyone. Her parents. Her parents were partially to blame but no one forced her hand. No one forced Xin to take those missions. She did it on her own free will.

Xin's situation was...interesting, to say the least. He knew it would take more than just words of encouragement to change her ways but she could do it. If he could do it, she could as well. She just had to want it. "But I…" She spoke again, eyes still trained elsewhere. "In the future. Maybe—I...could try."

Finally she turned her eyes to him and he remembered all the times he thought her eyes to be weird or even unnerving.

Her eyes were quite beautiful.

* * *

"Don't make me regret my decision in letting you have your missions again," I uttered almost blankly just as we were setting off into the desert. My hands were on my hips as I openly glared at Sasori.

The older redhead regarded me lazily, almost blankly. "I'm shocked you didn't manage to shove a curse in there somewhere. Good little kunoichi," Sasori replied sardonically. I took a swing at him but he dodged out of the way.

"Sensei," Ukyo whined. "No fighting," She asserted firmly. The young kunoichi shivered as the early morning's breeze blew through, almost warning us to settle down. I eyed Ukyo with a slight pout before Jura took off first, effortlessly leading us through the desert. I hated traveling through the desert. There were too many sandstorms, the sun was unforgivable, there weren't any trees around for shade and if I didn't pay attention, I could easily slip and fall into...the sand.

I hate the desert, goddammit.

It what seemed like forever, we managed to cross the border into Konoha's territory. The sand bled away into lush green forestry and the sun ducked behind the trees' shade. I felt more at ease in the forest. More at home in the forest. And yet…I felt like I didn't belong.

Odd.

Despite that, I quickly took over from Jura's lead. I led them as easily as he led us through the desert. Much like I had traveled before with Oda and Kou, I easily swung, flew, hurled and tumbled through the trees. Sasori, Jura and Ukyo did well in keeping up. Sasori and Jura had more experience, I suppose, which is why they adapted quickly to the change in scenery. Ukyo had to make more of an effort but I was proud none the less.

The moon was high in the sky when I decided it was time to set up camp. By mid-afternoon tomorrow, we'd be in the hustle and bustle that is Konoha. I wasn't excited. Instead I eyed the three sitting with me around the campfire. As odd as we were, we were a team. We were odd, didn't really fit with each other. And yet, I remember thinking the same thing six years ago when I was teamed up with Seiko and Haruka under Lena.

How strange, had six years already past? Had it been two years since I lost them already? I remembered as if it was yesterday when the three of us came together to form our dysfunctional team. Time was no one's ally, I suppose. And neither was the life of a Shinobi.

"Sensei?"

"Mm?"

"What was your team like?"

I blinked and then slowly looked at her. She faltered under my gaze, probably fearing that she offended me by asking about my past that I didn't share. And that's when I realized. As long as I'd been in Suna, these people who I probably considered as friends still didn't know much about me. "They were weird. Haruka was…" I paused and glanced at Jura. He was frowning, probably because he knew that name, he just wasn't sure why he knew it. "She talked. A lot. She was kind of a priss too. We bickered a lot," I laughed softly, remembering how our verbal fights would often lead to physical violence.

"Seiko was our peacemaker. She was very kind but she did have an unforgiving temper. You know, we might have been all psychotic but I think Seiko was the one to be wary of. She liked Genjutsu, you know, fucking around with our minds and shit. She was a sweetheart if you didn't cross her." I took the time to remember my old redhead teammate. I think Seiko was the best one out of us. She lost her parents at an early age, had a rough upbringing but still managed to be kind.

But still, I shivered at the memory of falling victim to her brutal Genjutsu.

"And then there was Lena-Sensei," I drummed my fingers against the ground, an amused twinkle in my eyes. "Lena was….interesting, I guess. She was was mean as fuck, had a twisted sense of humor and was sadistic…."

There was an awkward silence around the campfire. "So you're saying she was you," Sasori uttered blandly. "Or, you turned into her."

The snarky comeback caught in my throat. He was right, like Gaara had been right, when drawing comparisons between Lena and I. Even if I didn't want to admit it. I was Lena. I was sadistically mean with a twisted sense of humor. I was that she-demon. "I guess that is what I'm saying," I snorted. "She was tough but fair, I think. Well when I was young I thought her evil had no rhyme or reason. But she knew what she was doing. She wasn't really trusting of the the world but she was wise beyond her years."

I took a deep breath, shoulders sagging. "They were good people. Weird. Psychotic. But they were good people."

"I'm sure they were wonderful," Ukyo suddenly said. She looked up at me with a bright smile. The smile was infectious, causing me to smile right back at her. My stomach turned uneasily. They were, they were wonderful good people. And me, being the screwup that I was, cut their lives short. Ukyo continued to smile.

* * *

"We won't be here long," I stated once the gates of Konoha came into view. I noticed a glance shared between Sasori and Jura. "What's with that?"

"Uh," Jura started first, rubbing the back of his neck. "You remember my brother-in-law?"

"Genji?"

He was smiling, although he seemed a little nervous. I only eyed him before turning to the gatekeepers, recalling their faces but not their names. I recited the reasons we were here, they were more so personal but it was necessary. Although they knew me, they eyed my team warily. "Actually.." Jura trailed off, rubbing even harder at his neck. I glanced over my shoulder with a quirked brow. "We're supposed to be escorting Genji home as well."

I wanted to snatch Jura up and throw him somewhere. The fuck did he mean we're escorting Genji home? Who in the blue fuck—

"Hyuga-san?"

I looked back to the gatekeepers with a sharp twist of my head. "Uh, we're also here to retrieve Genji-San and escort him back to Suna."

"Genji is a former council member of Kiri. He's married to a Suna kunoichi and will be changing his loyalties," Sasori suddenly interjected with the information I didn't have. With little to no trouble, we were allowed entrance into my former home. Konoha was how I left it. Lively. Busy. Bright. It was Konoha. And I didn't belong. Despite that, I weaved easily through the crowd. The three behind me followed, Ukyo catching onto the cloth belt of my skirt when she was nearly dragged off into the bustle. Sasori and Jura walked closely against my back and I almost felt like there was no room to breath.

We had to stop by Tsunade's office first. She was surprised to see me. And she eyed Sasori with this strange look. I exchanged pleasantries with her all for the sake of being polite. She asked how Suna was treating me, I asked how the sake was treating her. She threw a heavy object at me that I barely dodged. I laughed loudly. The lady Hokage sent us on our way with the name of the hotel Genji was staying at. I whistled lowly, leading my ragtag team of misfits into the more wealthier part of Konoha.

"Genji-san must be an accomplished member of Kiri if he's able to afford staying here," Ukyo stated in awe as we stood in front of the Imperial. I only stood with my hand on my hip. The Imperial was one of the largest Hotels that Konoha had to offer and while it was awe-inspiring, any native of Konoha would not be impressed. Instead, my eyes wandered into the direction of the Hyuga Compound that wasn't far off. My stomach sank at the upcoming visit I would impose upon my family. I rolled my shoulders and steeled my nerves, nearly stomping into the luxurious hotel.

The man at the front desk scowled at the sight of my team but glanced into my face and seemingly straightened. "Hyuga-San," he greeted with a smile that reminded me of a rat. I regarded him blankly, not all that impressed. "Sagara Genji. He's our charge. I'll need a room next to his," I glanced back to the three with a frown. "Two rooms, actually. Make it happen."

He faltered under my gaze but nodded compliantly. In no time at all he was passing over two keys. I smiled but I'm sure it didn't reassure him at all. "Poor guy," Jura mumbled as we moved away to the uplift. I only waved his concern off. Men like that, people like that, they always turned their noses down to people like Jura, Sasori and Ukyo. To ninja.

Genji was….not what I expected. He was no ninja and looked like a regular civilian off the streets. He looked kind of...dorky in cute sort of way, I guess. Nothing like the type of guy Asuna would marry. We exchanged introductions and then promptly went to our separate rooms. Ukyo bunked with me leaving Jura and Sasori to share the other room. It wasn't too late in the day and I allowed Ukyo to go off with Jura to explore Konoha. We could visit the weapons shop tomorrow.

I stayed in the gaudy room, taking a long bath and then swaddling myself in the thick blankets. I stared up at the high ceiling and then rolled to my side, staring out the window. I laid there until my clothes were laundered and then delivered back to my room. Once I was dressed once again, I set off into Konoha.

My first stop was at the Yamanaka's Flower Shop. Ino wasn't manning the register, her Mother was. The older brunette offered a polite smile. "Good afternoon, Yamanaka-San," I greeted just as politely as her smile. She returned my greeting in a more regal tone that made me smile. Ino was nothing like her Mother and I used to constantly tease her about. "May I have the usual? For my team," I uttered, trying very hard to remember proper etiquette. Ino's mother was a freak about etiquette.

She arranged my flowers easily and sent me on my way with a sad smile. I hurried out, not really in the mood for forced conversations about dead people. The hike to their graves were far and the sun was low in the sky by the time I came across them with my flowers, incense and the bucket filled with water. I set everything down and slowly started to clean their graves.

When I was finished cleaning and praying to them, I sat in a heap in front of their graves, frowning sadly. "Oi," I finally greeted them after a long pause."I know you guys are probably pissed I haven't been around for so long. Try not to curse me too badly, Sensei. You're in a holy place now," I teased cheekily. The wind ruffled my hair and I could've sworn it carried the familiar sound of a woman's laughter. "But I'll have you know I have an excuse. You'll know it if you've been watching over me: I'm getting married."

The wind sounded lighter, like Haruka.

"Yes, yes, I know. Me, getting married? And so young too! I'll be getting married before I turn nineteen this year. But don't expect any children soon. It was an arranged marriage and well...I don't love him. I don't think I will, ever. Well. I don't want to."

I tapped at the grass, fighting the urge to tear it out. "Everything I love never turns out right, you know? I loved you girls and look what happened. I loved my parents and my sisters and you all know how that worked out," I hummed out softly. The wind slowed, caressing the back of my neck. Seiko would run her fingers across my neck whenever I was too upset.

"He's a good person. He wasn't before but he changed. Into a good person, a good leader. He's the current Kazekage. Funny, isn't it? He wants me to be good. He told me I could change before I left to visit here. I didn't believe him, still don't. I think I've done too much. Done too much wrong. And I either enjoyed it or didn't care. I've destroyed lives, ruined happiness. I don't think I deserve the right to be happy. Genuinely happy."

It was quiet. It was always quiet here. I wasn't sure on what I was waiting for, if there was anything to even wait on. I pulled my knees up to my chest, not caring that my skirt fell away to reveal the rest of my right leg and the strap of my undergarments low on my hip. I was alone up here anyway.

Ducking my head into my knees, I took a long shaky breath. "I...I just….._I'm so sorry_," I gasped out, voice cracking. "I'm sorry and I just miss you three_ so much_ and I don't know what to do because I feel like a stranger in Suna _and_ in Konoha. And if you guys were still here I know Lena wouldn't have let me go to Suna and we would still have our family but I ruined that."

I rolled my lips together and forced myself not to cry. Shinobi don't cry. We don't feel. A rule we younger ninja tended to ignore. But I usually tried hard not to cry.

The wind picked up again, threading through my hair once more. It felt like soft caresses through my hair, across my neck and down my back. My shoulders slouched, finding comfort in the odd breeze. I didn't have the right to mourn them as I was. If I hadn't been so careless, so arrogant in my abilities they would still be here. There was no such thing as _it isn't your fault, Xin_. Because it was my fault. There was no one else to blame but myself and I was horribly aware of that.

Despite that, I did mourn them. I missed them and I loved them. And I would live the rest of my life mourning their loss and taking the full blame for what happened two years ago. I could only hope that wherever they were, they did not hate me. Although I wouldn't blame them if they did.

The wind settled down.

* * *

It was late when I started back for the Hotel. On my way back, I ended up passing by the Hyuga Compound. For a few seconds, I stood in front of the giant gates. A sort of nervousness began to bloom in the pit of my stomach, slowly seeping up into my chest to cage my heart. Tonight I would not visit them. It was too late in the evening and I didn't want to disturb them and have an awkward reunion. I honestly only had plans to see my Mother so that I could talk to her. If I happened to run into Hinata, Hanabi and Neji, then that would be fine. My Father...well...I'm not sure.

And while I liked my Grandmother, wherever she happened to be, her husband wasn't too far off. He wasn't someone I wanted to deal with. Not when my emotions were frayed and hard to control. Now wasn't the time. Sighing heavily, I pulled at the cuff of my sleeve and trudged on. Hopefully tomorrow would be quick and easy. Like ripping a bandage off. No point in drawing it out, it only causes more discomfort. So, I would take care of things tomorrow morning and visit the Compound by the afternoon.

Nevermind the fact that Mother usually spent her afternoons by herself in her private gardens while everyone else was usually out or training…..

Good plan, good plan.

Ukyo was already tucked away sleeping when I returned. Not wanting to disturb her, I took a quick shower, changed into a pair of shorts and a loose tank top, I ducked right back out. "Oi, coming in. Put some clothes on!" I shouted as I knocked and suddenly opened the door to Sasori and Jura's room. Sasori looked up blankly, bent over...something. I don't know, one of his freakish humanoid puppets. I shivered at the thing, forever creeped out by the things. Honestly, Suna could say whatever they wanted about Konoha being showoffs, at least we didn't have a weird thing for puppets…

"Where's Jura?" I asked, settling down on one of the beds. Sasori continued to tinker with the thing, impassively ignoring me. I rolled my eyes and thought about nudging him with my foot but resisted. Sasori was weird.

Finally, he sat back from the puppet and rolled his shoulders. "How am I supposed to know? I don't keep track of Shinobi," He stated calmly. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath so that I didn't immediately threaten to disembowel him.

"You are so unpleasant sometimes, you know that? You could have just said you didn't know where he went, Christ," I hissed through clenched teeth. "It's no wonder that you're basically a hermit back in Suna, no one can probably stand how much of an ass you are," I grumbled under my breath, pointedly ignoring his acidic look.

"Do I look like someone who cares?"

"Obviously the fuck not, Sasori. What do you care about?" I rolled my eyes again and looked out the window, trying to reign in my nerves. "You don't have to be that way all the time. Life can't be that awful." "And how would you know?"

"Seeing as how you left your terrorist group to come back to Suna, I'm thinking that's how I would know." "I told you they aren't terrorist."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Mercenaries, excuse me. Mercenaries who tried to take you out," I reminded him snidely. "If life is so terrible here, why'd you bother coming back?"

"Because I chose to come back, that's it."

"Sure," I rolled my eyes and pulled my legs up to my chest so that I could balance my chin on my knees. I wrapped my arms around my bent legs and puffed my cheeks out as a clear sign of annoyance. It was silent as Sasori continued to pick at his puppet thing. The air hung heavily around us, drenching us in an awkward silence. I continued to puff my cheeks out and then glanced out the window, wondering why the hell I hadn't left yet.

"Why haven't you told your fiancé about what I told you the day the Hospital blew up?"

I glanced back at him, eyebrow quirked so high that it vanished under my bangs. "Cuz' I said I wouldn't?" I answered in a questioning tone.

Sasori kept working, frustrating me with his aloof composure. "You could probably get into some trouble if he finds out you withheld information from him."

I continued to stare at me and he continued to avoid my gaze. "It's not important," I finally said, lowering my chin to rest on my knees. "It's in the past. You're past shouldn't define who you are now."

_But it does. It does define who you are. You are a murderer. He is a traitor. And your fiancé is monster. You can't run from it. You can't, you can't, you can't._

"What an uplifting thing to say," Sasori broke through the poisonous thoughts. "It must be nice to live in a self-absorbed little bubble of ignorance."

I suddenly felt I'd just been slapped. Because, what? Like honestly, what?

"What the hell is your problem?" I hissed, my voice reaching a high octave just to show how offended I was by his words. "Jesus Christ, it's so damn hard being your friend, you know that? You literally suck the life and fun out of everything. Oh my God, you are like, the worst I have ever met and let me tell you, I've met a lot of shitty people. But you? You?! You are just so...so fuckin' terrible!"

I wasn't really sure what came over me or why I even bothered to yell at Sasori but what's said is said. Besides, he'd probably just have some dry comeback that would make me wanna slap the ever loving shit out of him.

"I didn't ask you to be my friend."

See? I wanted to slap the shit out of him.

Drawing in a long breath, I tried to calm myself. I unfolded my legs and stood up, rubbing my forehead. "Then why do you insist on coming around me all the time then, huh?" I asked with an eye roll. "Clearly we aren't friends, you really don't need me to specifically see to your recovery and yet, somehow you always end up in my presence." I placed a hand on my hip, smirking when he finally turned his attention to me. He slowly stood to his feet, easily towering over me.

"Not only that but you did confide in me, didn't you? I think you want me to be your friend. But you suck as a person and you're doing everything wrong. Go on, just ask me to be your friend." Sasori stared at me for a long time. I stared back, still smirking smugly. The older redhead continued to stare at me until he suddenly moved, grabbing me by my upper arms and drawing me into his chest. "Uh..."

And then Sasori kissed me.

Oh fuck.

I think I could actually hear my brain short-circuiting. There was something definitely sizzling in my head and I'm sure it was my brain. Sasori pushed harder against my lips and I reached up, catching his shoulder in an unforgiving vice-grip. I shoved him away, slapping my hand over my mouth with wide eyes. Oh, dear God, I'm cheating on Gaara. Never mind the fact that our relationship was fake but Sasori didn't know that. My mind was whirling as I stared wide eyed at the older redhead. I had to get out before my brain exploded.

"I'll..just….uh…" I fumbled for a reason to leave. "I need some air," I wheezed out before dashing out. I probably looked like a crazy woman, hurrying out of the hotel at nearly midnight with no shoes on. But I couldn't give two fucks at the moment. I let out a sigh I didn't know I was holding in as I hurried down some random path. "Well, this is an unforeseen development," I uttered once I finally calmed down. "How the hell am I going to explain this to Gaara….not that I have to because we aren't actually in love but it'd probably be the right thing to do regardless," I was rambling. "But honestly when do I ever do the right thing first? He can't get mad...or maybe he can. I don't know, he's weird."

My head was pounding now which was probably better than sizzling but still annoying. With a defeated sigh, I dropped down onto a stone bench. My feet dangled, toes barely brushing the ground. Okay. I'm engaged to Gaara. I'm not in love with Gaara but I don't hate his guts now. I'm sort of friends with Sasori, if you could even call it that. I didn't hate Sasori but I wasn't sure if I liked him either.

And both seemed to have a fetish for arguing with me and then suddenly attacking me with their mouth. Must be a redheaded thing. God, killing people was so much easier to deal with than boys.

"How long are you going to stare out into space? And where are your sandals?"

Startled, I looked up into the stern expression of Uchiha Itachi. Oh, fuck me sideways. Instead of showing my discomfort, I laughed. Wait, never mind. That was obviously a nervous laugh. "Itachi, I didn't know you were home from any missions," I said instead, scooting over to give him enough room to sit down without touching me. I've had enough of boys just doing what they pleased to last me a lifetime.

"You would have known had you bothered to visit. Mother is highly upset with you," He stated evenly, sinking down next to me. "You didn't visit her last time you were here, either," He pointed out calmly. I puffed my lips out and thought about how his Mother would give me _that look_ the next time I saw her. I rubbed the back of my head, glaring at him. It's not like he had to tell her I was even in Konoha the last time.

I pouted as the guilt gnawed at me. "I know what you're trying to do, Uchiha," I huffed with a frown. "And it's not going to work," I told him, eyebrows raised. I studied his profile quietly, remembering the crush I harbored on him. Did that crush still exist? I couldn't really tell. I hadn't really thought about Itachi in a long time. And now that I was staring at him, I wasn't mentally flipping out like I used to.

I didn't really feel tongue-tied or nervous around him. I just felt...fine with him sitting next to me. Well, honestly, I didn't want him to sit next to me right now because he was a _boy_ and boys were _clearly_ evil.

Itachi only hummed, clearly not believing me and unaware of my actual thoughts. He knew me too well. Several minutes ticked by before he broke the silence. "What are you doing out so late without any shoes on?" the eldest Uchiha quizzed, glancing at my feet.

"I…" I paused, pursing my lips. I wish Temari was here. Well. That's weird. I didn't want to admit that I panicked and ran out of my hotel because of a grown ass man kissing me. And why the hell did Sasori even kiss me in the first place? I never gave him any hints or signs that I wanted to be kissed by him. Did I? Bah, of course not. "Because I'm a screw-up, Itachi. I'm out here without any shoes on because I'm a screw-up," I finally admitted, thoroughly confused with my current situation and hell, my life.

"You're not a screw-up, Xin."

I squared my shoulders. "Stop treating me like a child," I huffed defensively. "You don't have to try to save my feelings, I'm not a kid anymore. I'm a screw-up and it's fine," I insisted with eyes narrowed in annoyance. I wasn't a child anymore, I wasn't that stupid ten year old sobbing my eyes out to him because my family didn't like me anymore. He didn't have to comfort me with a stupid lie just to save my feelings.

"But you aren't a screw-up," Itachi stubbornly argued in that calm way of his. "You're simply different and there is nothing wrong with that," He reached over, sliding his hand over the back of my head. I purse my lips as his fingers dipped into my hair, nails scraping against my scalp soothingly. I slouched into his hand, almost purring in pleasure. Itachi laughed very gently. "You haven't changed at all, Xin. I'm glad," Itachi said in a brotherly way. I smiled slowly, feeling at ease under his hand.

"It's just a very confusing time in my life and I'm just...trying…" I suddenly said. "Nothing seems to be going right and it just seems like I just keep going left," I uttered sullenly as he continued to scratch at my scalp. He suddenly paused, pulling his hand out of my hair. I whined at the loss of his fingers, pouting like the child I claimed I wasn't. He was giving me a look that once would have made me swoon. Instead, I felt nothing.

"Well, life will do that to you sometimes."

I snorted with raised eyebrows. "I really should have visited your Mother. You and your brother get your horrible people skills from your Father."

Itachi glared at me. I laughed.

Some things will never change.

* * *

"Is she dead?"

"Doubt it."

"Ukyo, is she dead?"

"...she has a pulse…"

"What did you do to her, Sasori-dono?"

"...what."

"I heard you two arguing last night."

"Where the hell were you last night?"

"Speaking with Genji. I told you I was going to talk to him."

I groaned loudly from underneath the thick piles of blanket. "For the love of Goddddd," I continued to groan. "Shut the fuck uppppp," I whined, curling into myself in a vain attempt to shut out their annoying voices. What's with these Suna ninja and not letting me sleep? What did they have against me sleeping? What time did they even go to sleep last night?

"She's alive," Sasori deadpanned before I felt him move away. Good. Get the fuck away from me with your lips/weapons of mass destruction.

Jura crouched down at the bed, leveling his gaze with mine when I finally peeked out from underneath my blanket. "I thought you were dead," He whispered loudly, smiling when Ukyo giggled. "I kept poking your arm and shaking your shoulder and you didn't even move. I thought you were really dead. How would I even explain that to Lord Kazekage? Xin died in her sleep?"

"Gaara and Kankuro claim that I sleep like the dead," I yawned obnoxiously and sat up. Sasori's shoulder subtly jerked at the mention of Gaara and I rolled my eyes. "Guess they were telling the truth," I mumbled, fixing my tank top that was tangled sloppily around my torso. If they would just leave me the fuck alone, I'd eventually wake up on my own. But noooo. We can't have that.

Jura only grinned and popped back up to his feet. "What are you going to do today?" He asked innocently as I untangled my legs from the blanket and swung them over the edge of the bed. I raised my arms and stretched, purring when something snapped, crackled and popped.

Ukyo frowned at that. I ruffled her hair and stood up. "Ukyo and I are going to visit a weapons shop and then…" I paused, frowning. "Then I'm going to see my Mother," I rubbed the back of my neck and them licked my upper lip. The room fell silent and then:

"Can we come too?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "No, Jura, you can't come. I'm only seeing my Mother and—goddammit, she's normal, alright?"

"Lies," Jura hissed. I rolled my eyes.

I could already tell this would be a long day.

* * *

Konoha was up and running like it was yesterday and the day before that and the day before that. I melted in with the crowd easily, hand clasped around Ukyo's hand. She was less embarrassed to hold my hand since Jura and Sasori were off doing their own thing. "And that—" I motioned to one of the many training fields scattered about in Konoha. "Is where I broke Haruka's leg."

"Do you have any normal, peaceful experiences in Konoha, Sensei?"

"Well, there was that one time….we….oh...never mind, we blew that up."

"You blew something up?"

"I've blown multiple things up."

Ukyo snorted boyishly and slapped her free hand over her face in slight horror. I raised an eyebrow and then snorted louder than she did. She blushed and snorted again. This time she didn't look so embarrassed. I turned down a road and before long, we came across _(in my undisputed opinion because really, who's gonna argue)_ the best weapons shop in the Fire Country. The bell jingled as I swung the door open, ushering Ukyo in.

"Welcome! Oh, it's Xin!"

My cousin's teammate_ (and soulmate but when does he ever listen to me?)_ stepped from around the counter. Tenten smiled widely before throwing her arms around me. "You're back home!" She exclaimed, skewering my heart because for some odd reason, no one had said that to me at all. Because it's not my home anymore but it felt good to hear that. I wrapped my own arms around her, smiling just as widely. We spent a few minutes chatting, catching up and discussing her impressive arsenal of weapons that she's mastered and that I'm totally jealous of.

"Oh, this is Ukyo. She's…" I paused, knowing how weird this was going to sound. "She's training under me and I wanted to get her a weapon," I finished, chewing on my lower-lip. But Tenten only continued to smile. She was always a little more open-minded to the things I did. Probably because of women empowerment or whatever she's constantly preaching about.

"Nice to meet you," Tenten beamed down at Ukyo. "I can't believe Xin is your teacher," She snuck a look at me. "She has such a short temper. How do you deal with it?" Tenten continued to grin, snickering in my direction. I made a show of rolling my eyes, ignoring her in favor of studying the set of katana pinned to the wall for decoration. Well. I think it's supposed to be a part of the decor. But, knowing Tenten and her family, anything a part of their decor could be used as a fully functional weapon.

"Sensei isn't as bad as everyone makes her out to be," Ukyo said, speaking as if I wasn't standing there. I glanced down at her, a shocked look across my face. I was as bad as everyone made me out to be. Actually, I was worse. Tenten glanced in between us, an unsure look on her face as I dropped my shocked expression. I placed a hand on my hip and shrugged one of my shoulders, trying not to grin. It was probably the nicest thing anyone has ever said about me.

Tenten smiled once more, nodding her head. "She's a good person, deep down."

"Alright," I sighed. "Can we stop talking like I'm not here?" I waved my hand dismissively. I wasn't a good person. Deep down, I was still the rotten girl I was on the surface. I wasn't sure if Tenten was simply agreeing to tolerate Ukyo's opinion or if she really believed that but it bugged me nonetheless. I placed a hand over Ukyo's head and shoved her off into a general direction of the hordes and hordes of weapons. "Go. Look. Find a weapon that suits you," I urged blandly, eyes blank but eyebrows slightly raised. Ukyo made a whining noise but I snorted. "You'll know it when you find it."

Tenten slipped back around the counter, leaning against it with that stupid smile of hers. I pursed my lips and leaned my hip against the counter, folding my arms. "What?" I asked blankly, subtly watching Ukyo explore the collection of war-axes. Axes would be no good for her. They'd be too heavy, causing her to use it slowly. That would leave too many openings.

"Nothing, nothing," Tenten hummed casually. "Marriage is just good for you, that's all," She stated after a moment. I broke my subtle staring to briefly glance at Tenten, eyes slightly squinted. Tenten continued to smile.

"What in the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Tenten's smile slipped away so she could roll her eyes. "We've got to do something about that mouth of yours. There's no way your fiancé could find that attractive. Unless, you know, he likes stuff like that," Tenten shrugged casually despite the impish grin flitting across her lips. I twisted my lips up at her.

"Stuff like what?"

"Dirty talk."

I snorted and glared at her. "Fuck off, Tenten," I sniffed defensively, finding nothing wrong with my language. No one cared if a guy cursed but it was a problem if I cursed? Because I was a girl, obviously. Because I was supposed to be this sweet, delicate flower. Like Hinata or my Mother. So much for women empowerment, huh Tenten?

I twisted my lips up again, berating myself for thinking sarcastically of Tenten. She was generally a nice person and probably didn't mean any real harm by commenting on my cursing. It's not like she was new to my personality and tics. She was only teasing like an old friend would. I really needed to relax.

Tenten leaned across the counter, patting my hand. "It's not the same without you, Xin. I hope you know that," She began to say, a serious look crossing her face. "But as long as you're happy wherever you're at, I think that's fine. We'll always be here, you know."

I stared at her for a long time, face void of emotion. "Ew, stop being sentimental," I stuck my tongue out at her, laughing when she reached up to slap my shoulder. Ukyo had vanished off further into the shop but I didn't hear anything being knocked over so I didn't worry.

A few more minutes went by with Tenten and I casually talking, joking and teasing each other before Ukyo appeared again. "Uh, Tenten-san?" She popped up from nowhere, slightly unnerving me with how silent her footsteps were. The brunette looked up. "What are these?" She asked, carrying two...sticks? I frowned with puckered lips, leaning forward to examine the weapons she picked out. Tenten leaned further over the counter and then beamed.

"Oh, those are bladed tonfa."

"Bladed what?" Tenten looked at me, lips twisted up. "And here I thought you were a weapons enthusiast," She rolled her eyes, clearly disappointed in me.

"They're sticks, Tenten. Why the fuck would I care about sticks?"

Again, she rolled her eyes. "They're not just sticks, moron," She huffed. "They're bladed tonfa, they originated from the mainland, which is probably why you're not familiar with them," She pointed out, stepping out from behind the counter once more. She carefully plucked them from Ukyo's grasp, careful of the blades. "These are the grips," She stated, twisting them around to hold the grips sticking out. I watched in silence, eyeing the sticks as they ran the length of her forearm, stopping at her elbow. She held them up defensively and the blades glinted in the light. "Obviously they're a short-ranged type of weapon so mastering taijutsu is key," Tenten began to explain, demonstrating the tonfa.

Ukyo watched in fascination. My expression had yet to change. "Now, if Xin here wasn't such a brute, this would be a good weapon for her because shinobi with wind release benefit from this sort of weapon. Tonfa aren't really popular in Konoha because wind release isn't as common. Although I did hear that it's common in Suna. Using the tonfa relies heavily on speed and being able to come in within close distance of your enemy."

"Wait, did you just call me a brute?"

"I think they'll be good for you, Ukyo," Tenten stated, ignoring me. I rolled my eyes and threw my hands up with an amused smile.

"Well since I know shit about tonfa or how to use them, could you teach her about it while I meet with my Mother?"

Tenten looked at me, being one of the few who knew intimately of my family history. She placed a hand on my shoulder in a comforting and sort of way and nodded. "I'll be glad to teach her while you visit Manami-san."

I grinned at her, grateful for her friendship. "Thanks," I uttered softly. "If I'm not back by the time she's done teaching you, just keep practicing, alright?" I turned to Ukyo, sensing her unease at being left alone in a foreign village with a stranger.

Her shoulders squared and she nodded firmly. "Alright, Sensei," Ukyo looked like she wanted to hug me but decided not to. I only patted her head, smiling.

"I'll come back soon. I also want to buy a weapon."

"Of course you do."

Flipping Tenten off, I quickly left. I sank into my thoughts, my feet knowing the way to the Hyuga compound effortlessly. It wasn't long when I came to a stop in front of the imposing gates. I looked off into the direction of the Uchiha Compound, wondering if I should have just gone to Mikoto-kaa instead. Gathering my courage, I stepped into the Compound. Nothing happened and no one seemed to even notice me. Shrugging, I slunk through the Compound, easily finding the manor that I used to run wild through.

Smiling ruefully as I remembered all of the trouble I managed to get into when I was a child, I shook my head. I was mostly by myself but sometimes I manage to drag Hinata and Neji along for the ride. Shaking my head for a second time, I slipped my shoes off and stepped up to the veranda. I felt around for anyone's Chakra and felt most of them in the training hall. Nodding my head, I headed down the opposite way to find my parents' room.

No one stopped me and I wondered if they were even aware of my presence. Shrugging it off, I stopped in front of the doors leading to parents' room. I could feel my Mother just sitting beyond the doors. I raised my hand to knock but stopped short. "Come in, Xin," Manami called out lightly. I froze, slightly unnerved that she was aware of my presence. Slowly I slid the door open. Manami was nursing a cup of tea and she smiled at me from behind the chinaware. "It's wonderful to see you, Xin," She greeted kindly. I rolled my lips and slowly stepped into the room, sitting down when she gestured for me to do so.

"I'm glad that you're in good health, Mother," I replied politely, folding my legs under me and bowing.

"Would you like some tea? It's Jasmine," She offered, nodding to the other teacup. I sat up and eyed the cup, wondering why she would have another cup already out. I nodded anyway, knowing it would be rude to refuse. Manami smiled and carefully poured me a cup of tea, offering it with the tips of her dainty fingers. I took the cup from her and nursed it but didn't drink from it. "You and...the Kazekage...how are you doing?"

I glanced at her, noticing she was nervously picking at the sleeve of her kimono. When she noticed me staring, she quickly picked up her teacup again. She didn't drink from it.

"Gaara and I are doing….well," I puckered my lips thoughtfully and then my shoulders dropped. "We're weird, Mama," I sighed heavily, figuring there was no reason to beat around the bush. Manami eyed me, a slight tilt to her head. "It's...just...in the beginning it was easy to hate him, Mama. Every little thing he did irritated me. I hated the way he _breathed_," I explained, flexing my fingers around the teacup. She stayed quiet, letting me vent. "I went out of my way to just annoy him and provoke him and make him hate me….."

Manami took a small sip, eyes closed. "But…." She trailed off, urging me to continue. I rolled my lips together, tapping at the floor.

"Things are different."

And that was it because that's all I was certain. Things were just different. Things were weird. Things were not right between us and I didn't understand it at all. I barely knew how to explain it. "Is he treating you accordingly?"

I opened my mouth and then closed it. Temari often joked that our relationship was a little abusive but there's always some truth in every joke. I recalled the grips that were bruising and the bloody sand manhandling me. But I'd also punched him in the face and tried to kick him in the head. We constantly threatened one another and bickered relentlessly. But sometimes….

So I told her. Well, I cleaned some of the parts up, leaving the explicit parts out and just ghosted over that. And then I told her about our good moments. Like when I broke down and cried over Usui and Gaara offered his comfort. About our lunch dates, about how he sometimes worried, like when Kimi punched me in the face. Meeting his dead Mother.

Manami remained silent the entire time, only moving to sip from her tea every now and then. I drank mine once I was finally done speaking and frowned. It had cooled down.

"Arranged marriages are always difficult," Manami stated as I took a breather. "Especially when there is no relationship to build off of. Some couples go their entire lives just tolerating the marriage because they have to," She stated to explain, gently placing the cup down. I still held onto mine. "But some people are lucky enough that they fall for each other," She was suddenly smiling and maybe she was remembering the early stages of her relationship with Hiashi.

"Falling in love is no sin, dear," Manami stated, breaking from her thoughts. "You may have not fallen in love the way you wanted to but that is the thing about love. There's no real explanation for it. It just happens," Manami shrugged, looking like a normal woman and not my delicate, barely ever speaks Mother. I sighed heavily. First Temari was spouting out bullshit about liking one another and now here comes my Mother with this sappy love shit.

_"What did you expect her to tell you?"_ the little voice rang from my head. I almost jumped at the sound of it. It was louder than usual. _"This is exactly what you wanted to hear._ _You just wanted someone to tell you that it's okay for a person like you to be in love."_

That was not true.

_"Well...if you're so sure…"_

"Xin? When exactly is the wedding?"

My eyes must have popped open because she looked a little surprised. "Oh...um, I don't know yet. I don't think a date has been set yet," I replied with a casual shrug. Which was a lie but I just didn't want to tell her that the wedding was coming up and I wasn't sure if she was invited. I should really ask about that when I returned to Suna. Then again...did I even want to invite my family? Did I have a choice?

"Oh," Manami puckered her lips. "Well…" She trailed off, looking away. "Xin...I..I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. I'm sorry about your upbringing and this entire marriage business…" She didn't look back at me for awhile. I only shrugged a shoulder, not really wanting to talk about that. Apologizing wasn't going to give me a decent childhood. Nor would it make all this marriage bullshit go away. Nothing would change. "The missions...the missions Lady Tsunade used to send you on...does Gaara-san send you on those same missions?"

I looked at her stoically. "Don't ask me that. I'd hate to see you cry.." I trailed off softly. Her eyes were the size of dinner plates as she regarded me. Slowly she nodded but her eyes did look like they were watering. She blinked hard, willing the tears not to fall.

When she looked back up, her eyes strayed over my shoulder. "I...understand," She spoke softly, pulling at her sleeve once more. I didn't stare, opting to let her pick at it. She glanced at me, a torrent of sadness washing over her eyes.

I almost scoffed. I hope she didn't expect me to forgive her or anything. I acknowledged her apology but that didn't mean I accepted it.

_"You shouldn't be so hard. You could have been a better daughter."_

_"Yeah? And she could've raised a baby girl. But she didn't, did she?"_

The voice slunk away, leaving me be for the time being. Manami was watching me the entire time, probably wondering what was going through my mind. Oh, Mother-dear, you do not want to know a damn thing that goes through my twisted mind. I glanced out the window and realized the sun was low in the sky. I had to get back to Ukyo. "Well, I have to get back. We leave tomorrow morning," I shifted and then bowed once more.

Setting the cup of cold tea to the side, I slowly slid to my feet. Manami was still watching me, a soft frown across her face. "I see," She nodded, a mask of gentle indifference slipping back over her face. Her usual expression. "But...Xin...you don't have to continue living in your personal Hell."

I balled my hands into fists but smiled foxily. "Oh but Mama," I turned, sliding her door open but stood in the doorway. I peeked over my shoulder, fox-smile still in place. "It's really quite pleasant," I paused, smile widening. "Oh, well, except for the smell," I shrugged my shoulder. "Stay well, Mother."

* * *

Ukyo was out in the field behind Tenten's shop when I returned. I only waved her to continue practicing while I looked at the weaponry. While I wasn't a master at handling weapons like Tenten, I did switch weapons frequently. But they were usually the same type of weapons since I couldn't just pick up any weapon and learn its ways like Tenten. "Welcome back. How's Manami-san?"

I shrugged as I eased around the shop. "The same as always. Guarded. Gentle. Apologetic," I answered dismissively. fingers gliding over a pair nunchuck. I pursed my lips and shook my head, I could just see myself smacking myself in the face with those.

"Did you accept her apology this time?"

"Nope. Probably never will."

"Xin..."

"What's an apology going to do, Tenten?" I suddenly asked, peeking out at her from behind a wall of kunai knives. "If I break this decorative vase right now," I pointed to a vase sitting next to the cash register. It probably had a weapon hidden in it. I _really _wouldn't be surprised if there was a weapon in there. Tenten's family was freakish about these type of things. "And apologize to you, will it fix the broken vase?"

"It won't."

"Oh."

Tenten rolled her eyes, balancing her chin in her palm. "You are so dramatic," She huffed. "Did you see Hinata or Neji?" She asked as I continued to wander further and further into the shop. Nothing was popping out to me. It was frustrating.

I scratched the back of my head. "Nah. They were down at the Training Hall with Hiashi. I didn't want to disturb them. Besides, I was only there to see Mother. I just had some questions and I figured she would have answer or explanation."

"Oh, well, did she have the answers?"

"Sort of."

Tenten hummed but did not ask anything else about my meeting with Manami. "Are you having trouble deciding?" She called out as I crouched down to examine a katana that was pinned down lower to the floor. I stared at it and then frowned in distaste. Using a katana wasn't really my thing despite having to learn its ways to be in the ANBU. "Come here," Tenten waved me down. I took one last look at the katana and heeded her urging, stepping behind the counter. She led me into the backroom with the weapons that weren't on display. Most of them weren't for sale for various reasons.

"I always thought long weapons were better suited for you. You know, since you're short and tiny," She expertly ignored the dirty look I threw her. "But you always wanted to get up close. That's why you always got hurt so much, you know." again, she ignored my dirty look. "These came in recently but we haven't found a suitable place to put them on display." Locked in a large glass cabinet was a collection of naginatas. The staff of the weapon that caught my eyes was pitch black and expanded well past my height with the added curved blade mounted at the top.

I puckered my lips, eyes wide like I was looking at a new toy and not a deadly weapon. "Oooh," I awed at it, twitching impatiently as Tenten slid the glass open. I snatched the black one out of the case. I backed away, putting enough space between the two of us. I gripped the pole and slowly began to twirl it around. Tenten leaned against the case, trusting that I wouldn't cut myself or something stupid. I shifted, raising the naginata above my head to continue twirling it. I tossed it between my hands, spinning and twirling it.

Finally I stopped playing with it like it was a toy and lowered it down to look at it. It's had silver engravings that reminded me of leaves fluttering in the wind. I stared at the symbol and ran my fingers over it, approving of the small reminder of my birthplace. The only reminder I would allow. I think once I officially married Gaara, I'd probably forsake Konona entirely. I looked back up with a grin. "I'll take it."

* * *

Ukyo and I returned pretty late to our hotel but she seemed satisfied with herself so I couldn't rain on her parade with my sour attitude. The entire point of coming to Konoha, besides visiting my team, was to get some answers concerning my strange relationship with Gaara. It was one thing to get advice from Temari but she didn't have the experience of an arranged marriage like my Mother. I figured she would have the answers but her explanation only caused more confusion.

Perhaps I could have worded things differently. But I was just so desperate to vent to someone other than Temari. As much as I got along with her, she was always going to have Gaara's side over mine and it wouldn't really feel right venting to her after already explaining my confusion. And besides, I don't really think anyone would have the answers I was looking for because they didn't have the relationship I had with Gaara.

Huh. This visit was pretty much pointless. At least I managed to visit my team and get Ukyo a weapon. So I suppose two out of three wasn't too bad. Annoying. But not bad.

"Xin," Jura was leaning against our door as Ukyo and I approached. He eyed the naginata warily as I carefully handed it over to Ukyo. The young Chunin glanced in between us but took the weapon, bading us a goodnight. I smiled at her until the door shut behind her. Knowing we were alone, I slowly turned to him and frowned softly. It was, after all, late and I figured both Jura and Sasori would already be asleep.

"Jura," I placed my hand on my hip, head tilted to the side. "You should be sleeping already. We're leaving early tomorrow," I pointed out. The large brunet eyed for a minute, staring into my face. "Jura?" I poked at his folded arms. Something was weighing heavily on his mind but I don't think he knew how to word it. I licked my upper lip, a nervous tic I tended to do when I was uncomfortable. A lot of people often mistook it as being a sexual motion and it got me into a number of awkward situations.

"Do you like Genji?" Jura suddenly asked, catching me completely off guard. I squinted at him hard. What in the world did Genji have to do with anything? I practically forgot he even existed. He spent most of his time away from me and I had spent most of my time out and about in Konoha. I didn't even know his age and I barely knew his last name.

"I'unno," I shrugged one shoulder, feeling the heavy metal strapped to my arms under my sleeves. While I was halfway out of Tenten's shop, I noticed two pretty black fans lined with sharpened iron. Figuring they were good backup weapons, I bought them and strapped them to my forearms to remain even more unassuming as I was. "I haven't really talked to him too much, he's always holed up in his hotel room," I said simply. "I don't think we'd have much in common either way. He's a civilian, isn't he?"

"Former councilman. We mentioned that several times to you."

Oh, hell. I never seemed to get along with anyone on the Council. I guess it's probably my lack of respect for authority. Well, I got along with Baki but I had a feeling that was only because he thought my relationship with Gaara was amusing. Which is kind of weird because I never saw the man laugh.

Jura rubbed at his neck, eyes closed. He sighed heavily. "I probably sound paranoid or something but I'm just….I feel weird," He explained with trouble. What did he want me to say? I was always suspicious of everyone around me. Hell, I thought about killing Jura when I first met him. I was freakishly paranoid. I glanced at Genji's room, frowning.

Genji. He wasn't much to think of. He was a bit shorter than Jura and was pretty lanky. His eyes were a very dark green and perched on the bridge of his nose he wore gray glasses. His hair was thick and black, ending somewhere near his shoulders that he gathered in a ponytail. Genji was...unassuming. I barely spoke to him other than telling him my name and confirming that I was overseeing his wife's pregnancy. He gave me a funny look, probably because I was younger than Asuna but I brushed it off.

"Well," I finally said after several minutes of silence. "Councilmen can be sneaky. Besides, he's marrying your sister. You're paranoia is probably stemming from that," I tried to placate his nerves. Jura didn't seem too convinced. I only heaved a sigh. "Listen, there's not much we can do since we know shit about him. Besides, you're not even sure why you feel weird about him. You just do. We can't just burst into his room with random accusations."

Jura's big shoulders slumped and he pouted. "Okay but if we did have actual reasons to burst in there, you'd totally back me up, wouldn't you?"

My eyebrows knitted together but I smiled. It was an incredulous smile. "Are you kidding me?" I scoffed, hand on my hip. "I'd be the one kicking the damn door down," I threw my hands up. Jura grinned widely at me and I felt my own shoulders slump. Though my slump was done more out of relief. I liked Jura smiling. Brooding and paranoid Jura wasn't any fun. That was my role in this friendship.

The big brunet suddenly gathered me in his arms in a big bear hug. I giggled in his embrace, struggling to free my arms so that I could wrap them around his neck. I had to stand on the tips of my toes but then Jura leaned back, lifting me clear off my feet. "You're a psycho," Jura grinned boyishly. I ignored him in favor of finally getting my arms around his neck. "But you are my best friend," Jura nuzzled my face, causing another giggle to bubble past my lips.

I did not take notice of Sasori sardonically staring at us from the doorway of his hotel room.

* * *

TeeBeMe: I feel like this chapter is like...iunno, a filler. It was also kind of frustrating to write. Maybe because I prefer Xin killing people and there was no violence in this chapter. And barely any Gaara, that kind of sucked, huh? I mean, sure, her relationships with Jura and Sasori are kind of funny but they're not like Gaara's relationship with her. But it had to be done, so eh. Xin's outfit from this chapter was based on Seong Mi-Na from Soul Calibur IV as well as her new Naginata. Mi-Na was always my favorite. Ukyo's weapon was based off of Talim's tonfa. Ukyo reminded me of Talim.

Also I decided to change this to an M-rated story because of all the gore. Possibly sexy-time. Not sure about that but I am sure that there's more gore to come. Review even though this chapter wasn't all that great. Things will be going back to normal next chapter, I promise!


	17. Bad woman to keep

Every time I came to visit Konoha, leaving for Suna seemed easier and easier. I only glanced back once just as we left the village. We started out slow because Genji simply couldn't keep up with our pace. He was able to tap into his Chakra but he simply wasn't trained enough to move the way we did. This, of course, frustrated me. Moving so sluggishly would attract the attention of wandering bandits hiding out in the forest. I pinched the bridge of my nose and carefully stepped over a thick root, briefly pointing it out to Ukyo. It normally took a little under a week to travel between Konoha and Suna for ninja. But with our current pace, we'd probably arrive three days late to Suna.

Thankfully nothing happened during our first day and pretty soon (honestly not soon enough) we were setting camp up as the moon hung over us in the night sky. I knew the area we were camping in and remembered a very small hot spring nearby. "Oi, Ukyo," I flagged her attention down as she slid her pair of tonfa off her arms. "There's a hot spring about a mile to the East. Would you like to go?"

Ukyo puckered her lips and nodded. I didn't see why she was so worked up about a hot spring but I chose to shrug it off. Maybe it was a girl thing. I turned to Sasori and frowned softly. He hadn't really spoken to me. Not since that very strange...encounter. I've simply acted like it never happened. "Keep an eye on Genji," I ordered just as he blankly returned my gaze. We stared at one another for an awkward minute before I turned sharply and led Ukyo away.

Sasori was so strange.

I sank down into the hot spring, sighing in bliss. My tensed muscles relaxed almost instantly and I almost moaned out loud at the feeling. "Sensei?"

"Mm?"

"Do….do you miss Kazekage-sama?"

Oh. Well, that was pretty random. But then I had to remember, Ukyo was thirteen and she was a hopeless romantic. I've caught her several times reading sappy love stories. She was interested in love, fascinated by it. And the only couples she really knew of were Gaara and I and Asuna and Genji. "Well, yes," I replied evenly. Too evenly. Did I really miss Gaara? It was hard to tell. "But I also missed going out on missions," I smiled softly, basking in my freedom.

Ukyo nodded, looking lost in a deep thought. "Do you…" She paused, rolling her lips nervously. "Do you think Hideki misses me?"

I smiled fondly at her and chuckled. "Do you like Hideki?" I asked innocently. Ukyo's face light up like tomato. "I won't tell," I mused quietly.

Ukyo sank down, the spring's water lapping at her chin. She was still blushing and her eyes were looking at something past my shoulder. "...Maybe," she muttered almost into the water. My smile curved further into a grin. Ukyo let out a long whine. "But I don't think he likes me back," she stated after a moment, pouting like a child. My smile dropped, a confused frown replacing it. "He's a boy, Sensei," Ukyo said in exasperation. "You know what they're interested in at their age!"

_"...ex...plosions?" _How the hell would I know what thirteen year old boys are into?

"You, they're in to you!"

"...Excuse me?"

Ukyo groaned, leaning her head back. "Well, not specifically _you_ but you," Ukyo stated in exasperation, rubbing her face. I clearly was not following. "Girls that look like you, Sensei. You know. Women. Curves. Pretty smiles. Breasts. Hips, stuff like that," She motioned wildly to me, disrupting the calm waters. The warm water lapped at the bottom of my face and I frowned.

"In case you haven't noticed, Ukyo, you're a girl. A girl with breasts, hips and a wonderful smile."

"But not like yours. Hideki stares at you all the time. And so does Jura and Sasori-san," Ukyo stated glumly, confusing me. They did stare? I've never noticed.

"Nine times out of time, Sasori is only staring because he wants to punch me in the face and sew my mouth shut."

She tried to hide it but she ended up snorting at my statement. "But you're still pretty, Sensei," she said after taking a moment to gather herself.

"I don't think it's that. I think it's because I'm foreign. I don't look like the women Suna men are used to. I'm just something different, that's all that is," I waved it off. "And besides, you're still developing," I reminded her with a shrug. I paused, wondering how I ended up having a conversation like this with Ukyo. With her Mother being dead, I figured someone had to have it with her, just not me. Maybe Asuna or even Hatsune. Er….maybe not Hatsune.

But it wasn't like I was any better to have the conversation with. Hatsune was immature but I was just a basketcase. "Every woman ends up looking different and if a guy is only attracted to you for your physical assets and not you, he's a waste of time," I told her in a firm tone. Lena told us that once before when Seiko was feeling down about her appearance. She was a tall, lanky redhead and thought poorly of herself compared to Haruka's blonde bombshell appearance and whatever the fuck was so appealing about me. Well, Lena had worded that a lot differently but I'm pretty sure what I said summed it all up. Ukyo tried to hide her smile but failed miserably. "Besides," I said airily. "Hideki stares at your butt a lot."

"Sensei!"

* * *

I was clearly irritated when we finally reached the border between Konoha and Suna. In wasn't sure how we were supposed to travel across the desert with Genji. Maybe Jura could carry him. I eyed him thoughtfully. He noticed my staring and tilted his head to the side. I said nothing, shrugging my shoulders.

However, before we set off, Sasori noticeably stiffened. I paused, turning to him with a question rolling off my lips when he suddenly shoved me to the side. I stumbled and caught my footing just as a large shuriken swooped in. It would have beheaded me had I stayed in place. Still, Sasori didn't have to shove me to the side. He probably did it on purpose. Jura stood defensively in front of Genji and I almost groaned again. Genji didn't have any experience in battles.

Greeeeat.

_End P.O.V_

Xin slid the naginata from her back, holding it offensively as the five offenders dropped into view. The shuriken that nearly beheaded her flew back to the one on the furthest left. Xin narrowed her eyes. She sprang forward first, knowing Jura would take care of Genji if someone got too close to the former councilman. Xin dropped to a sudden crouch, swinging the naginata in a wide arch. Her victim managed to dodge backwards but couldn't avoid the tip of her blade meeting his leg.

Despite the distance, the smell of fresh blood hit her nose and she grinned. Forgetting about her companions, she dove head-first into battle-mode. Springing up, she twirled the weapon above her head and swung it down diagonally. Despite his wound, he scrambled out of the way of her blade. The curved blade hit the ground. Xin tore the blade from the earth, holding the naginata up in front of her defensively to block the sudden attack from his own blade. With a burst of chakra, she forced him away. Angling the blade of the naginata, she cleaved her enemy's leg from his body, grinning manically when he had no choice but to drop to the ground, blood everywhere.

Blood had splashed across her face from the vicious strike but it was as if she didn't notice. She flipped the weapon, the blade pointing to the ground. Without batting an eyelash, she slammed the blade down into her attacker's neck, grinning widely. She tore it out viciously, basking in the smell as blood spurted everywhere. "Too easy," She mused, her grin faltering. She glanced over her shoulder to see Sasori and Jura handling themselves well. Xin twisted and watched Ukyo fend her own attacker off. The young kunoichi was doing well.

And then the man knocked Ukyo clear off her feet, sending her hurtling into a tree. Her student shrieked and Xin darted across the clearing. Silent as the night and with no warning, Xin swiped her weapon horizontally. The blade caught the man's neck, lodging itself easily into the soft flesh. It jerked to a stop and she had to readjust her grip and jerk it again to separate his head completely from his body.

Uyko gaped at the sight as the headless body slumped to the ground, spilling blood everywhere. But Xin's eyes were already on the fleeing member of this band. She tossed her naginata up and caught it in a different grip, holding it over her shoulder. Ukyo could feel a swell of Chakra radiating from the tiny woman standing above her. Xin reared back and with the added strength from her Chakra flow, hurled the naginata like it was a javelin. Ukyo's wide eyes followed the airborne weapon, mouth falling open when the blade slid into the back of the fleeing man's head. There was a wet noise as it sank into his head, pinning him to the tree directly in front of him.

"That was anticlimactic," Sasori uttered, his face appearing over Xin's shoulder. She only glanced at him before stepping closer to Ukyo, hand held out. The younger girl stared at Xin's clean hand and then her eyes led up to the bloodied face.

Xin didn't falter and patiently waited for Ukyo to grab her hand. Once she did, she smiled kindly and hauled her student to her feet. "You did good, kiddo," She stated kindly, patting Ukyo on the head.

There was a sudden shuffling that jerked their attention to the tree with the man pinned to it. Xin waved Ukyo over to Genji and slowly crept to the tree, Jura and Sasori on her heels. Xin paused, yanking her naginata out of the man's head with a wet squish that made Genji and Ukyo cringe. Sasori only glanced at her but she shrugged, opting to creep towards the other side of the tree.

Xin sprang around the tree, naginata held out and ready to plunge the blade into whoever was hiding behind the tree. Jura followed after her and suddenly let out a shout, grabbing Xin by her shoulder and yanking her back. "Wait!"

Ukyo jumped and stretched, trying to see what was behind the tree that had Jura so wound up. "What the fuck, Jura?" Xin rounded on her teammate, eyes narrowed as she batted his hand from her shoulder.

"Don't what the fuck me, Xin. It's just a girl, she's not even a threat!"

"How in the blue fuck do you know that?!"

"Oh, could it be that she's bound and gagged behind this tree you just used as a dart board?"

As the two hotly argued, Ukyo made her way over to them. She peeked around the large tree to see that it was a girl, maybe a year or two older than her, bound and gagged. She was propped against the tree with a frightened look in her eyes. Ukyo reached forward, slowly untying the gag. "Are you alright?" She asked over Xin and Jura's bickering. The girl said nothing, eyes watching Xin's every move. "Oh, don't mind Sensei. She didn't mean to scare you like that. She's just a little weary of other people."

"Weary isn't the word," Sasori uttered dryly, crouching down next to Ukyo. "That woman is paranoid," He stated as the girl finally tore her eyes away from Xin. "What's your name?"

The girl faltered, chewing relentlessly at her lower lip. She didn't notice Xin squint at her. "My name is M-Minori…"

"I'm Ukyo," Ukyo leaned forward, smiling. "This is Sasori-san, that's Jura, Sensei's name is Xin and over there is Genji-san," Ukyo pointed the team out with a reassuring smile. "Are you alright, Minori-san?"

"I...I….yes," Minori stammered, shifting. "The...the men. The bandits...are they all gone?" She asked slowly, eyes tracing the bloody clearing.

"Gone as in dead?" Xin shoved childishly at Jura before closing the distance between them. Minori stiffened, Xin ignored it. "Then yes, they're gone." She replied casually, leaning against the tree with the naginata propped on her shoulder. She regarded Minori quietly while everyone waited for the normally paranoid woman's next words. "What's your story, Minori?"

"My family was slaughtered and I was sold to these…men," Minori began to explain, teal-colored eyes darting around. Xin stared at her, eyebrows raised.

"I didn't realize slavery was still an ongoing issue," Sasori uttered, momentarily interrupting Minori. Xin broke her state to temporarily stare at Sasori.

"Probably because it's an issue involving women mostly," Xin shrugged one shoulder. Her gaze found the young girl once more. "Where are you from, Minori?"

"...M-Mizu no Kuni…"

Xin almost rolled her eyes. "Of course you are," she muttered in slight annoyance. "Was your family from Kiri?"

"N-No. I'm from a very small island, you wouldn't know of it…"

"Course I wouldn't."

"Sensei…."

Xin only sighed, something wasn't sitting right about her. She glanced at Ukyo and slumped her shoulders, already aware of why Ukyo was staring so hard at her. If Jura hadn't stopped her, she would have simply killed Minori and left. But no, Jura had to wear his heart on his sleeve like some giant teddy bear. "We'll take you to Suna with us. There, the Kazekage will decide what to do with you. Unless you'd rather travel back to your home on your own."

Minori's eyes were wide again and she viciously nodded her head in agreement when Xin tilted her head to the side with a quirked brow. She told Jura to untie her and Ukyo to check over her. While those two busied themselves with Minori, Xin and Sasori gathered the scattered bodies to dump in a pile. The pile was light on fire and the two watched as the bodies began to rot and burn. Sasori glanced at her, figuring she would turn away from the burning pile. But she stood firm, staring into the blaze with a certain glow that should have unsettled him.

"Alright. Let's go."

* * *

Just like Xin figured, they arrived three days late to Suna. The young kunoichi sighed heavily as they passed through the gates into the slumbering city. "Jura, take Ukyo home. Sasori and I will take Minori and Genji to Gaara," Xin suggested although it really didn't sound like a suggestion at all. He looked as if he was gearing up to argue but he glanced at Ukyo.

The girl seemed dead on her feet and he knew she needed a good night's rest. Huffing irritably, he nodded and placed a hand on Ukyo's shoulder. Ukyo went easily, offering an exhausted 'good night' as Jura led her away. Xin watched them go until Sasori tugged at her arm. She, like Ukyo, went easily with his tugging. The extended travel time began to take its toll on her. She hadn't realized just how tired she was.

The came upon the tower faster than she remembered and before long, she was knocking on the door. Normally she would have waltzed right into Gaara's office but figured it would give Genji a poor impression. Xin opened the door, ushering the new foreigners in along with Sasori. "We're back," Xin sang with a touch of sleep to her voice. Gaara looked up at the sound of her voice, a strange look of relief flitting across his face before it melted back to his usual indifferent expression.

His eyes roved over Genji and Minori before finding Sasori and Xin once more. "Where's Jura and Ukyo?" He asked first, noticing their absence. He hoped Xin didn't kill them.

"Sent them home, Ukyo was dead on her feet. I figured Sasori and I could handle the debriefing," Xin shrugged casually and then remembered the two new additions. She turned towards Genji and grabbed his sleeve, tugging him to stand in front of the desk. "Here," She stated simply, stepping away from Genji. She shot Gaara a meaningful look before falling back into place next to Sasori. Later on, she'd whine and complain about withholding information from her concerning Genji.

Whatever Genji and Gaara discussed was lost on Xin. She probably should have paid more attention because nine times out of ten, Genji would become a member of Suna's council. The majority of Suna's council weren't too fond of her and it would probably do her some good if she found another ally besides Baki.

Too bad she had the attention span of a cricket.

A sudden elbow at her side shattered her random thoughts. Eyes narrowed, she turned to scowl harshly at Sasori. He met her heated gaze and the words died in her throat with his odd gaze. Mouth pinched with widened eyes, she quickly looked away. Gaara was watching the exchange with just a hint of curiosity. Xin simply brushed it off and then glanced at Minori.

"We were attacked by a group of bandits at the border," Xin began to speak, ignoring Sasori. "We took care of them but she was left. I wanted to kill her but Jura and Ukyo thought it was better that we bring her back here," She explained, not an ounce of regret to be found at the suggestion of killing a young girl. "She's from Mizu no Kuni but not Kiri. Just a small island. Coincidentally, we've never heard of this island," She finished up, giving him a meaningful look. Gaara could already tell what her paranoid ass was hinting at.

He rubbed his face, thoroughly exhausted with anything that had to do with Kiri. It was then Baki decided to join the gathering, nodding in greeting to Sasori and patting Xin on the shoulder as he passed them. Xin only hummed, tuning them out again as they discussed what to do with Genji and Minori. Genji wasn't that hard to decide upon since he was changing his citizenship to Suna to be with Asuna and their baby. Minori on the other hand….

Xin yawned obnoxiously, interrupting Gaara and Baki's conversation. The Kage eyed her, a slight hint of bemusement across his features as she rubbed at her face. "Return home, Xin. Have the mission report in by tomorrow afternoon," Gaara said in a tone that wasn't firm. Genji noticeably frowned. "And take a shower before you get blood everywhere," Gaara said to her back, confirming that he did take notice of her blood-streaked face.

Xin only let out a small laugh, waving over her shoulder as she made her exit. Sasori followed her out, eyes trailing her every move. Genji waited until he could no longer hear their footsteps before looking up at the the Kage. The little woman was entirely unnerving. Even next to Jura's muscled frame and Sasori's intimidating indifference, the woman was unnerving.

It wasn't until she suggested killing Minori, an innocent child from his country, that he really realized how unnerving she was. Despite her short stature, womanly curves and cheerful smile, that woman was a demon in disguise. Asuna had mentioned the odd little woman several times in her letters during their separation. Despite that, nothing could prepare him for how brutal she actually was. Asuna probably had yet to witness that side of her.

"Forgive us for…." Bake began to speak. ".._.Her._ The Lady is still adjusting," he explained but he didn't seem too sorry, Genji thought.

"The Lady? Is she of great importance?" Genji asked, slightly surprised at the title given to her by a high ranked councilmen.

"She is," Gaara stated, eyes finding Minori. He'd forgotten her. "She will be my wife in a month."

Oh. Well shit.

* * *

It was days after they returned that Xin found herself practicing with the naginata. Things had gone back to normal such as their daily routines. However she did notice that Ukyo tended to hang around Minori a lot. It irked her that Ukyo insisted upon Minori's company all the time. However, she figured, just because she was paranoid of anything coming out of Kiri didn't mean Ukyo had to feel the same way.

Xin huffed, dancing around the backyard with her naginata, slashing and swinging it with practiced ease. The Sand Siblings had expressed their distaste for the new weapon. She was already dangerous with just her hands and feet, now she wanted them to trust her with a weapon? Kankuro had been quite vocal with his discomfort.

The other thing that had been weighing heavily on her mind was Sasori. She hadn't seen much of him but that didn't stop her jumbled thoughts concerning his surprise-attack of a kiss. Her thoughts weren't jumbled or anything because she liked the kiss. She didn't think much of the actual kiss. She thought more on why Sasori had kissed her. The reasonable explanation would obviously be that he liked her. Why else would a person kiss another person? Well that wasn't entirely true because she remembered kissing a man (_and even a woman once but that was another story entirely_) just so she could lower his guard and kill him.

But Sasori had yet to kill her so the only thing left was because he liked her. But then he made it seem like her disliked her. He'd basically rejected her friendship, stating that he never asked for it. Lost in her thoughts, Xin missed the naginata after throwing it up. She had just enough time to pull back before her hand was sliced off by the blade. It clattered to the ground and Xin sighed heavily, looking down at the bladed staff. She looked down at her hands but her mind wandered off again.

"E-Excuse me?"

Xin blinked and turned her head towards the house, lips pursed in question as her eyes found Minori. Her face dropped at the sight of the young girl. For one reason or another, Gaara had decided to let the girl live in Suna for the time being. She didn't have any training as a kunoichi so in Xin's eyes she was pretty useless. And she didn't make it a secret that she didn't trust the young girl, despite Ukyo's urging to be nice to her. "Yes?" Xin asked as politely as she could. Minori pulled at the sleeve of her kimono. Asuna had been nice enough to give an old kimono to Minori once they realized all the girl had was the rags on her back.

"Uh," Minori tugged a little harder at her sleeve and watched with careful eyes as Xin swept up her weapon. The blade gleamed in the sunlight as she settled it against her shoulder. She quirked a dark eyebrow but said nothing else as Minori struggled to regain some courage. "Gaara-sama wants to see you. H-he says that it's important and to not...um..he said not to bullshit," Minori rushed out in one nervous breath. She had spoken so fast that her words had melted together in one blob of gibberish that Xin couldn't decipher.

"Could you repeat that?" Xin asked slowly. "I'm not going to kill you or anything," She pointed out in wry amusement. At least not at the moment, she continued to think. Minori did so but slower this time. Xin only huffed but nodded, crossing the yard and up the stairs. Minori backed away into the house but Xin only followed, lowering the naginata to safely walk through the backdoor. "How'd you get into my house?" Xin asked as she followed Minori through the kitchen. Her thoughts took a pause to briefly wonder when it became 'her' house and not 'their' or the 'Sand Siblings' house.

"Oh," Minori fumbled in her sleeve, pulling out a ring of keys. She smiled weakly and offered them to Xin. "Gaara-sama says y-you forget your keys a lot…"

Xin snorted and shoved them into her pocket. "I do not," she huffed but Minori noticed the smile across her lips. When they made it to the front door, Xin leaned the weapon against the wall and led Minori back out into the hot sun. Minori noticed a pair of decorative fans dangling from the large kunai strapped to her waist above the weapons pouch. She frowned and studied them, wondering why she had fans.

"U-Uh, M-Miss Xin?" She asked carefully, still unsure on how to refer to Xin. She was going to marry the Kazekage but she often twisted her face up at any sort of formal titles. Xin glanced at her, eyebrow quirked again. "Why do you have decorative fans?" She pointed to them, eyes focused on the pretty fans.

"They're weapons," Xin replied plainly. She reached behind herself and pulled one off the latch. She spread the fan with a flick of her hand and held it up to hide the lower half of her face. The fan's blade gleamed ominously in the sunlight and though her mouth was covered, Minori could tell Xin was grinning mischievously. Eyes weary, Minori nodded and Xin snapped the secret weapon close and hung the fan in its place.

Xin continued to smile the entire way to Gaara's office. Minori made a speedy exit, claiming she was meeting with Ukyo. Xin was positive that she mumbled what the two were up to but she tuned it out. She watched Minori hurry away, already aware that Ukyo would complain that she was being so sadistic towards Minori for no reason. Shrugging her shoulders, she dipped into the tower and began to climb the staircase.

"Why? Why? Why was it necessary to have a tower with a thousand stairs? Why? What good will that do?" She grumbled, feeling her muscles burn at the excessive use from training. If she had known Gaara would call her in for whatever the fuck she had done now, she would have taken a break from training. Xin continued to mumble and grumble even when she finally made it to the top floor. She rubbed at her neck and wondered if Jura would give her a massage. She paused at the thought and changed her mind. That was wrong. Ukyo could give her a massage. That was safe.

She was paranoid. She knew that, she was naturally a paranoid person. That was nothing new. However, in light of Sasori's odd behavior, she had become almost freakishly paranoid with the men present in her life.

Xin was aware of her pretty face. It was a conceited thing to be aware of but she knew it. Her sister was pretty and if she thought her sister was pretty clearly that meant she thought she was also pretty. It only made sense, she figured. However what wasn't pretty was her twisted personality. She had some good points, like her sense of humor and was surprisingly nurturing when the time called for it. Other than that, her personality wasn't really appealing. Because of that, she couldn't understand why Sasori would want to kiss her. They hadn't shared any tender moments and every time they were together, they spent it bickering.

_All you ever do is argue with Gaara when you're with him. _

That was true, she mused, leaning against the banister. But with Gaara it was...different. She wasn't sure how but she didn't see Sasori in the same light as Gaara.

_Perhaps because….you like him?_

"He's alright…."

_No you fool._

"What? Like, as a best friend?"

_No. Deeper than that._

"...Super best friends?"

_Holy shit, you are stupid. No you fucking idiot, you like him. Romantically._

"Whaaaat? Now where would I get an idea like that from?" Xin laughed nervously and suddenly paused, frowning deeply. She chanced a glance over the banister. The last thing she needed was for someone to catch her talking to herself. Laughing nervously again, she rubbed at the back of her neck and pushed off from the banister. "Maybe it's a mission," She theorized, quickly trying to change her odd thought. She pushed the door open with her hip and slapped a smile over her face.

"Oi, sugar-butt!"

The look Gaara gifted her with was truly amazing and had her peeling with laughter. Her laughing fit had her bent over, hands propped on her knees as she cackled relentlessly. "Oh, oh, Jesus Christ on a stick! Y-You should see your face!" Xin squealed in between laughter. "Priceless! Fuck, I wish I had a camera!"

"Whenever you're finished laughing like an insane banshee…." Gaara muttered into his palm. Her laughter died into stuttering giggles and then she came to a slow stop, lips pressed together to hide her smile.

"Alright, alright. I'll be good, I promise," She held up her hands defensively. Gaara only narrowed his eyes at her. Xin crossed the office, sliding off her sandals and climbing onto his desk. "So, what's up, why'd you send twitchy to rush me here?" She asked, getting comfortable. He shot her a look but chose not to reprimand her about her attitude towards Minori. Xin just wouldn't budge on that subject and he figured it was better to leave it be for the time being.

"I'm going to ask you a question and I want you to answer it truthfully."

"Aren't I always truthful?"

"No, you're always loud."

Xin didn't argue with his point but she did make a show of rolling her eyes. She motioned impatiently for his question, probably eager to get back home to rest her weary body. "What happened in Konoha?"

Xin frowned, head cocked to the side in confusion. "I told you what happened. I gave you a report too and this time I kept all my 'snide' comments to myself just like you asked me to."

"Good for you for being an actual adult and keeping those comments to yourself," He reached up and patted her thigh. Xin glared at him, hoping her face didn't flush at his casual patting. "But that isn't what I'm talking about and I'm sure you know that."

Xin's shoulders squared but her confused expression remained in place. "I don't know what you mean."

"With you and Sasori."

_Oh holy shit._

Gaara watched her face for any signs but she gave nothing away. "Why would you think something happened?"

She noticed his eyes darken in irritation but took a long breath. "Because he said something happened."

Xin twitched and unfolded her legs, sliding herself across his desk to sit directly in front of him. She licked her top lip, a clear sign of her frayed nerves. Hopefully Gaara hadn't learned all her nervous tics. He did catch the motion but he said nothing. "What did he tell you?" She asked slowly, completely sure that she was going to find Sasori and run him through with her naginata.

"He told me you two shared a moment."

"Oh, for fuck's sake…"

"So it's true then?"

His expression did not change from its usual indifference but she did notice something spark in his eyes. Betrayal? But she hadn't betrayed him, had she? Yes they were together but they weren't together and they never promised anything to each other. After all, this was a publicity stunt and they weren't supposed to mean anything to each other. He made it clear that he wouldn't love her and she remembered throwing those words in his face the last time they were arguing about Sasori.

What was their relationship? What was brewing underneath all the bickering, stolen looks and secret kisses? What were they becoming? She wasn't sure of any of that but she was sure that however she answered would either make or break their fragile relationship. This brought her back to her first question. Was she in love with Gaara? No, she wasn't. Well, she wasn't sure but could she love him? That was the question of the day.

Could she? And how would she know? Perhaps that would've been a good question to ask Manami when she had the chance. She pinched the bridge of her nose, doubting that Gaara would let her go back to Konoha so soon. Besides, did she even want to go back so soon? How was she supposed to know what being in love felt like? She'd only experienced a crush and she was far too old to experience it again. And how would he even react to her suggesting that she could grow to love him? That didn't mean he would or could grow to love her. He barely liked her.

His only concern was their image. And she supposed that running around letting strange men kiss her was a big no-no. She really would have to hunt down Sasori. Again, she licked her top lip. Gaara noticed, his eyes following the trail of her pink muscle across her lip. She did it every time she seemed uncomfortable, nervous or backed into a corner.

He was noticing her quirks.

"Uh, okay, just don't get mad, alright? This honestly wasn't my fault. This time," she reached up to pull at her hair but remembered it was piled high on the top of her head and huffed nervously. Gaara didn't agree nor did he disagree. "When I came back from visiting my teams' graves, I went into Sasori and Jura's hotel room. Ukyo was sleeping and I couldn't fall asleep and I really didn't want to wander around Konoha. So I went in there looking for Jura but he was busy talking to Genji, of course, so that left me with Sasori."

Gaara only nodded and Xin nodded with him, shifting. "Somehow we started to argue because I was getting sick of his suck ass personality, I mean, honestly, would it hurt to be nice? And if you can't be nice, just shut the fuck up. I do it. Well, I try but I make a better attempt. It's like Sasori has no polite filter, he just says whatever rude shit pops into his head and it makes me want to break his nose and—"

"_Xin."_

"Huh? Oh yeah, I had a point. Okay, see, we're arguing and I'm telling him what a horrible person he is and out of nowhere he grabs me and kisses me! I was fuckin' shell-shocked, my brain actually fizzled. But I broke that off and fuckin' left and ever since that, he hasn't really spoken to me and….what's wrong with your face?" If Xin had to sum his face up, she would describe it as a mix between rage and shock. She leaned back, slightly nervous. "Uh…" She planted her hands on the desktop and attempted to slide herself backwards, away from Gaara. If she put some distance between them and stood by the door, maybe she would be out of the line of fire.

Gaara's eyes flickered from the pretty blue (_which she often caught herself comparing to an endless blue sky_) to gold ominously. When she saw that, she knew it was time to get the fuck away. Before she could make an escape, his palms slapped down against her legs. She jumped and tried to move away only to squeak when his hands gripped under her knees and pulled her back. She felt sharp claws digging into her flesh and she knew she fucked up by not making an earlier escape.

Gaara rose, standing over her smaller body. His hands traveled from the backs of her knees, up her legs and sides to settle on her arms. She felt her skin prickling, knowing there were going to marks. He leaned in dangerously close, their noses nearly touching. Up this close, she could clearly see his pretty blue eyes melting away into gold with that strange diamond pattern for pupils. "_You let him kiss you?" _Gaara (_or Shukaku?) _practically hissed her face. Her eyes flickered down, catching dangerously sharp teeth that wasn't like that before in the light.

"Um," Xin fumbled and the feeling of being backed into a corner crept up her spine. She licked her bottom lip again, noticing golden eyes focused entirely on the movement. "No, I didn't let him kiss me. See, you're not listening. I specifically said this wasn't my fault at all and look, you're clearly blaming me. Don't you know that communication is key in relationships? We are never gonna work if you don't listen to me," Xin rambled in an attempt to distract him.

But her words only served to irritate him even more. Xin felt something sharp against her skin and glanced down to see jagged claws instead of blunt fingernails nearly digging into her arms. Gaara practically snarled, showing off equally jagged fangs. "Don't give me that bullshit," He spat at her.

"It's not bullshit—_oh my God_, you have fangs. Why do you have fangs? Why does he have fangs? What the fuck are you right now? Some kind of weird manbeast? Please God, put those away."

"_Xin!" _

"_What?!" _

The two glared at one another for a silent minute. "Why? Why did you kiss him?" Gaara _(she still couldn't decide if it was Gaara or the Shukaku_) growled, hands dropping away from her arms. With the pressure gone, her shoulders slumped.

"Is this a guy thing, like why don't any of you listen? I didn't kiss him, Gaara. He kissed me in some surprise attack, you know, like you tend to do randomly?" She grumbled the last part under her breath, scrunching up her face.

"Did you enjoy it?"

"I'm sorry, what? Did I enjoy it? What, being surprise-attacked by a grown man that I really don't like that much? Yep. Totally. Totally enjoyed it—_of course I didn't enjoy it, you douche_!"

She wasn't sure what was up with the men in her life but they were all starting to really piss her off. From her Father to even Jura, she was sick of all the men.

She felt the claws pricking at her skin again. Although oddly enough, it was around her waist she felt the pricking, not her arms like beforehand. She glanced down to see his arms slip around her waist and before she could question anything, she was dragged nearly off of the desk. Her toes scrapped at the floor and she attempted to push herself back to sitting completely on the desk.

But Gaara curled her into his chest, watching calmly as her eyes widened at the contact. Her eyes wandered almost frantically, probably looking for an escape route. She was probably convinced he's going to finally kill her. He wanted to. He wanted to wrap his hands around her throat and squeeze the life out of her because she's so goddamn difficult and how dare she make him like her?

She was a crafty fey and he should have killed her a long time ago. Before he developed these strange feelings and before the Shukaku claimed ownership over her. He wanted to but he couldn't, he just couldn't. So he kissed her instead. Like last time, she tried to fight him off, pull away, escape. But her will to escape died down because she liked it just as much as he liked it. It'd be like pulling teeth to get her to admit it but he knows. He broke away for a second, only a centimeter of space broke their contact. She gasped harshly against his mouth, her lips already lighting up into a reddish hue.

"Kiss me back, Xin."

It was a little weird because neither of them are quite sure who made the demand. Gaara or Shukaku. His voice is still it's usual raspy rumble and she noticed that the Shukaku tended to have a more scratchy rumble versus Gaara's raspy rumble. And before she wouldn't have figured that there was a difference between raspy and scratchy but there was. Despite that and despite her earlier need to escape, she ruined the space separating them. Little hands that were more dangerous than he thought possible swept around his neck. Ironic how before he was weary at her touch and now he craved it. She slipped the rest of the way off of the desk, pressing her backside into the edge of it and nearly climbing his body to obey his command.

For a moment, she paused to stare directly into his eyes. She didn't smile nor did she frown. Instead, she looked confused—almost scared. Almost like some sort of twisted realization had just dawned on her and it confused or scared her. Like she didn't know how to deal with whatever was going through her mind. He felt her fingers against his neck twitch and curl into his skin. She dragged them from behind his neck, her fingers meeting at the base of his throat. Quietly, she traced her fingers back up his neck and along his jaw to cup his face. She kept quiet, thumbs caressing his cheekbones. Lips, puffy and bruised, rolled together apprehensively. She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, teeth poking out as she bit it.

And then suddenly, Xin leaned up on the tips of her toes and kissed him. This was probably the part where she'd mutter a very soft 'I love you' but she didn't because she didn't love him. Not yet. Maybe not ever. She's still trying to figure that part out. After all, he did steal the only freedom she had right from her, forcing her into a role that she clearly didn't want. But she pushed that thought, that side of her that detested him, to the very back of her mind. As much as she thought she hated him _(or, at least, wanted to hate him_) she had some sort of sick fascination with his lips.

They only shared a soft kiss once before, usually their kisses were full of anger and it was almost like a battle for dominance for the two. It was only once that they kissed as softly and Xin could barely recall it because at the time, her head had been a mixed of several confused emotions and had barely registered it.

Her hands fall to the back of his neck again and she tightened them just as he pressed their bodies together. The sensation of their bodies pressed so tightly together was electrifying as hard lines dominated the softer curves. Her hands dropped from his face to find his shoulders, leaning the majority of her slight weight on him. She huffed against his lips when he wouldn't let up. She was practically trapped under him, free to be dominated. But when did she ever let anyone get away with dominating her?

Whether it was on the battlefield or in the midst of intimate acts _(that really shouldn't be happening in the first place_) she refused to be dominated. Xin pushed harder against him, hands swooping underneath his shirt. Their gentle kiss easily turned to a battle as they fought for dominance. Her slim fingers skimmed across his abdominal, muscles bunching and coiling under her cool touch. With the combined force of her curled tongue and a strategic roll of her hips, he let out a hard gasp and backed off just enough to give her the dominance they fought for.

Gaara shuddered and Xin pinpointed his weakness, forcing him to sit back down so that she could climb on top and straddle him. Her nails dug deeply into his jaw before slowing relaxing. A devilish grin caught her lips, nails caressing his jaw almost lovingly. "You…" She trailed off to a pause, not sure what she was about to say. Gaara reached up, swatting her hands from his jaw. She huffed, hands dropping to settle on his chest. Gaara didn't react to her displeased response, opting to cup her face in his large hands. He tugged and she leaned down closer, gaze watching as his eyes shifted from gold to blue. It mesmerized her and she found herself lost in the never ending shift of his eyes.

"...Gaara?" She breathed softly, breath tickling his lips. His hands fell down, grasping at her waist. His jagged claws dug through the thin material of her shorts and she shifted almost nervously.

"Whether our relationship is staged or legitimate, you are mine to touch. Not Sasori's, not Jura's, not anyone's." his claws ripped through the thin cloth, digging into her skin to solidify his point. She hissed through her teeth, her skin breaking from the pressure.

"B-But…." Xin blushed as she fumbled to say something, to argue. She wasn't his to touch as he pleased. She wasn't anyone's to touch, she wasn't a possession. She was a person, Godammit, a woman. A fierce woman and women weren't made to be owned.

"And in turn," Gaara began to speak before Xin could form any words. "I am yours to touch. Not Matsuri's, not Hatsune's, not anyone's. Do you understand?"

Hell no she didn't understand. She didn't understand any of this. She needed someone to sit her down and fully explain all of this nonsense. Pictures included. "Uh," Xin stuttered, hands clenching the fabric of his Kage robe. "I just...I just need to think…." She uttered, slipping off of him. He let her go, hands settling in his lap as she fidgeted in front of him. He watched quietly as she readjusted her shirt and fixed her shorts back into place, momentarily forgetting about the bleeding wounds from his claws. Xin stepped away, bumping into his desk. She jumped visibly, glancing at the desk with a quick and nervous blink. "Um, um….I just need to think, okay? Just...I need to think. I'll…..I'll talk to you later."

Gaara still didn't reply, watching in slight bemusement as Xin struggled back into her sandals and then fled. The Shukaku, now slightly sated with the taste of her lips lingering, chuckled almost darkly.

* * *

Sasori frowned as Chiyo shuffled into his living room. He could've sworn she said she wasn't going to visit him today. He watched as the old woman glanced around the living room, eyes studying everything as if it was the first time she stepped foot in there. The older redhead tilted his head to the side and continued to stare at her. Something wasn't sitting right…

Chiyo glanced at him, a tight frown pinched at her wrinkled mouth. There was a sudden explosion of harmless smoke and when it cleared, an angry Xin stood in her place. She stood with her hands on her hips and her nostrils flared. "Why are you parading around as my grandmother? And was the smoke really necessary?"

Instead of answering, Xin stepped delicately around the coffee table and slapped Sasori across his face. His head jerked to the side from the force of the slap and Sasori was sure (_once his brain stopped rattling around_) that she had used some of her Chakra to strengthen the slap. "You son of a bitch!" She exclaimed with fire in her eyes. "Have you completely lost your shit?!"

Sasori sourly rubbed his bruised cheek with a small frown. "No, but I'm sure I just lost a couple of brain cells from the surprise attack," He grouched down at her. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Me? Me? What the hell is wrong with me!? What the hell is wrong with you?! Why the fuck would you tell my fiancé, that I'm marrying next month, that we had a moment? We didn't have shit, Sasori, oh my God. You could've gotten both of us killed. Do you want to die? Do you? Cuz' I sure as hell don't," to add to her point, Xin slapped him once more.

"Will you stop that?" Sasori growled, catching her hand as she swung for another hit. Xin only scowled harshly, glaring daggers at him. "You...you aren't happy."

"..._what." _

"You heard me, Xin."

"I know I heard you but I'm not sure if you heard you. How the fuck are you going to tell me I'm not happy? How would you even know?"

"I can see it in your eyes. You're not in love with him and you don't want to marry him. I don't know why you're marrying him but you don't want to."

"So you have the right to kiss me and then tell my fiancé?"

"I didn't tell him I kissed you. You told him that."

"I had no choice!" She snapped, finally snatching her hand away. "I wasn't going to lie when he clearly knew _something_ happened because someone just_ haaaad _to say something. That's what adults in relationships do, Sasori. We don't lie and we don't keep secrets."

"You didn't have to tell him exactly what happened."

"Yeah? You didn't have to tell him _anything _happened because _nothing _happened."

Sasori looked down at her but she only glared back at him. She stepped out of his range, hands folded defensively across her chest. She rolled her lips together and then took a long breath. Sasori noticed her finger drummed against her arm almost erratically. "Sasori, there isn't anything between us, alright? I'm in love with Gaara, that's why I'm marrying him. I don't know where you got this notion that I don't but I do. Our relationship is hard for others to understand but that's why it our relationship," Xin tapped a little harder at her arm. She could really use a cigarette or a cup of coffee. Either one would do her some good. Maybe some sleep as well. But then drinking coffee and then wanting to sleep would be counter-productive.

"We...we're friends, Sasori. That's all we're going to be. But...we can't be friends if you try to sabotage my relationship, alright? It's probably best if you don't even go near Gaara either, he has every right to punch you right now."

"Like how you just slapped me?"

"You're lucky that's all I did. I was going to kick you in the balls but decided that was a bit much."

"Slapping the living shit out of me with Chakra isn't a bit much?"

"No, you clearly deserved that," Xin insisted with a huff, her folded arms twitching across her chest. "Lay off a few days, Sasori, you're not really liked right now," Xin suggested just before holding her hands up in a seal. There was another cloud of smoke and Chiyo's form emerged. Sasori eyed his Grandmother's doppelgänger with a twitch of his eyes. She simply frowned but gave him a meaningful look before leaving as quickly as she came.

Sasori's eyes narrowed.

* * *

"You sure you wanna go out on a mission? We just came back a few days ago," Xin frowned as she leaned against the doorway of her office. She had returned to the Hospital after confronting Sasori to be told Ukyo was assigned a mission with Kankuro, Temari and Hatsune. "What kind of team is that anyway?"

Ukyo only smiled. "There's nothing wrong with any of us," Ukyo stated in a soothing tone. She still didn't understand why Hatsune and Xin didn't get along well. Everyone else got along with them separately.

"Kankuro fights with puppets and Hatsune sucks with her puppets. Temari is just weird. You guys are weird together," Xin pouted, irked that she wasn't assigned on any missions.

"You're so mean, Sensei."

"Bah, old news," Xin waved off Ukyo's accusation and watched as the younger girl prepared her medical pouch. She reached forward, brushing her thin shoulder. "Are you going to be alright out there?" Xin asked softly, lips pulled into a sad frown.

Ukyo paused and rolled her lips together thoughtfully. She glanced up to meet Xin's somber gaze. Xin held her gaze and squeezed her shoulder in reassurance. "...I think so. I was okay on the mission I went on with you. I...I can't be stuck on Usui's death, I can't let it stop my life. I have to move on, I know he would want me to. It's okay to miss him a lot, isn't it?"

Xin's somber gaze melted away and a sweet smile light her face up. "Of course it is, kiddo. Not a day goes by that I don't miss and think about my team. It makes us stronger, you know? I know Usui must be proud of you." A wide smile threatened to split Ukyo's face. Xin's sweet smile stretched into one of her signature grins and she patted Ukyo on the head. "I know you'll be fine, kiddo. Try not to stress a lot, alright?"

"Got it. Oh..and Sensei?"

"Mm?"

"Try to take it easy on Minori, okay? She's a really nice person."

"...uh-huh…"

"I'm serious, Sensei. I asked her to come and check on you while I'm gone," Ukyo admitted, not a shred of guilt to be found on her face. She knew Xin didn't like the kid but that didn't stop her from constantly trying to force them to be on friendly terms.

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm grown. I don't need some kid checking in on me like my Mother. Not that my Mom even bothered to check in on me...ooh, bad memories. Let's not take it down there…" Xin pursed her lips, trying to think of anything but her weird childhood.

"I know you're grown, Sensei. Well, technically you're only eighteen.." Ukyo trailed off, purposely ignoring Xin's glare. "But sometimes you forget to take care of yourself and I know you hate troubling Kazekage-sama so I figured that could all be avoided if Minori pops in to check on you."

"Why can't you just have Jura check on me?"

"Because Jura has the same mindset as you."

Xin glared at Ukyo and huffed. "Oh, whatever," She conceded, dropping down in her chair. Ume, who'd been sleeping under the desk, stretched and climbed into Xin's lap. Xin continued to pout, quietly petting and scratching Ume's ears.

"And don't antagonize her, Sensei."

"_Alriiiiiiiiigh_t, Jesus, you're worse than Gaara _and _Temari. Go already, don't you have to meet with them now? Gooooo," Xin waved her off with her unoccupied hand. Ukyo only smiled, offered a kind goodbye and left with her medical pouch fully stocked. Xin continued to pout long after Ukyo had left. Now what was she supposed to do when she went home? Both Kankuro and Temari were out and she was positive Gaara wouldn't come home until the early hours, when she was sleeping.

She sighed heavily and patted Ume's back. Despite being well taken care of, Ume had yet to develop into an actual cat. Xin figured that maybe she'd been the runt of her litter and would develop more slowly but Ume's physical body hadn't changed at all. She seemed terribly intelligent for a kitten though. Ume hopped down at Xin's patting. "Tonight seems kind of slow so why don't we head home? I'll cook us a small dinner and do some reports in bed. Sound good?" She looked down at the black furball while gathering the work that needed her attention. The black kitten mewed in content agreement and Xin led the way out. The walk home was uneventful and she filled the silence by chatting to Ume.

"Home sweet home," Xin sung, unlocking the front door. "Shake your paws of sand, Ume, I don't feel like sweeping up any sand tonight," She chided the kitten, watching as the kitten did as she was told. "Maybe we'll just have some fish and rice tonight since no one is home. You can have some fish scraps for once."

Ume mewed again and followed at Xin's heels. The kitten waited patiently as Xin prepared dinner, curling up on the bed in the corner of the kitchen. "Should I drink coffee?" Xin mused, dropping several chunks of raw fish into Ume's food-bowl. She rolled her lips and shook her head. "Nah, I'll just drink some soda or something," she decided, taking a moment to click her tongue for Ume's attention.

The kitchen was quiet as the two ate, momentarily broken when Xin would hum to herself. When she finished, she washed her dishes and retired to her room while Ume sauntered off to God knows where. Xin showered, dressed in an oversized tshirt, dried her hair and settled down on the small couch in the bedroom. The silence of the house unsettled her and she tried to distract herself with all the medical reports. When that didn't distract her from her buzzing thoughts, she placed the work to the side and began exercising in the middle of the room.

100 push-ups, 145 sit-ups and 50 squats (_she hated doing squats_) later, she still felt unnerved with the silence and her wandering thoughts. Xin frowned, hand on her hip as she surveyed the room. She felt so antsy and twitchy. Maybe she was waiting for someone to crashing through the windows, swinging a weapon at her face. She glanced to the window and felt the veins around her eyes hardening under her skin. Her enhanced vision searched the perimeter of the house but nothing stood out. There was nothing wrong tonight and that bothered her. She was alone. That really bothered her.

_I thought you liked being alone._

Xin frowned and tried to will the voice away. She kept telling herself not to talk to the disembodied voice, that it didn't actually exist. It was only a figment of her screwed up imagination and it would never go away if she constantly fed into it.

_But I do exist, silly girl. I'm you._

Xin ignored the voice. It chuckled, lowly, darkly and she felt a pressure in the left side of her head ease up. The voice was gone for now. The door suddenly eased open and Xin twisted around, Chakra already pumping into her fist. She stopped though, defensive fist lowering slightly as Gaara stepped into the bedroom. "Oh," she blinked, slightly caught off guard. "I wasn't expecting you home so early," she admitted, glancing to the side at the clock. It was barely 11:30.

"Minori said you left the hospital early," Gaara shrugged, shifting around the room. He went to the closet, picking through it to gather clean clothes. Xin only quirked a brow, wondering if he was going to bother with getting any sleep if he was dressing for it.

"Minori told you that?"

"Apparently Ukyo asked her to look after you while she was gone? She came to my office in a panicked state when she couldn't find you there."

Xin huffed, folding her arms across her chest. "I told that child I'm grown, I don't need a babysitter. Especially a twitchy one."

"You make her twitchy. She's fine whenever you're not around."

"Because I don't trust her."

"You don't trust anyone."

"That's not true, I trust you."

Gaara paused to give her a strange look. She only looked back at him, eyebrows slightly raised but other than that, her face did not change. Gaara only hummed, not sure how to reply to her statement before turning and leaving the room. Xin only watched him go and then shrugged, figuring he probably only came to check in on her. She glanced at the work she abandoned and sighed with slumped shoulders, scooping it up. She settled on the edge of the bed and pulled her legs up, crossing them under her and reading the medical report.

Thirteen minutes later, Gaara came back. She glanced up at him and tilted her head to the side. Remembering that she wasn't wearing pants under her oversized shirt, she quickly unfolded her legs and eyed him. The redhead only held her gaze for a beat. Xin silently shrugged and looked back down at the report. With her gaze focused elsewhere, Gaara closed the bedroom door and crossed the room. She didn't glance up, expecting him to sit on the couch or even at the desk. Instead, he plopped down next to her. After several minutes of silence, she looked at him.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, why do you ask?"

"Because you're sitting next to me."

"Is it a problem?"

"I guess not," Xin muttered like a scolded child. It was quiet again until she broke it. "Why are you still here? I figure you'd go downstairs to work on something you brought home," she stated, not really concerned that she sounded extremely rude.

Gaara shrugged one shoulder. "You're up here," He offered simply. She blinked at him, completely surprised with his answer. Her dark brows drew together and she slightly leaned into him, eyes blinking rapidly.

"Are you trying to tell me you want to spend time with me?"

Gaara shrugged again. "You're lonely."

Xin's mouth fell open into a small 'o'. "I am not!" She huffed, her mouth twisting into an amused smile. "I'm working," She pointed out, tapping the reports.

"You're becoming a workaholic."

"I wouldn't if you'd just give me some missions."

"If you behaved, I would."

Xin stuck her tongue out at him. It was silent again although this sort of silence wasn't uncomfortable. It was only broken here and there as they quietly discussed their day. Their strange earlier encounter in his office had been avoided but Xin knew something had to be said about the entire situation eventually. "I spoke with Sasori," she suddenly said, taking notice of Gaara's stiffened shoulders. "Well, I yelled at him. And slapped the living bullshit out of him. I mean, honestly, what was he thinking?"

"He was probably thinking that he likes you."

Xin made a weird noise in her throat. "I don't see why. I yell at him all the time and I'm always on his case about taking care of himself or something."

"Sounds familiar."

"Are you trying to suggest that I treat him the same way I treat you?"

"It's a possibility."

"Well," Xin blinked as if insulted. "Too bad for Sasori I only have eyes for you then, hm?" She laughed and scooted over to elbow his side playfully.

"Yes, that is too bad."

He gave her a funny look and she only pursed her lips. "A-About earlier….um…" Xin wasn't exactly sure how she should approach the subject. "...I…" Xin puckered her lips in thought, not exactly sure of what she wanted to say. She held her hand up to him but pulled it back towards her chest, frowning.

Gaara quietly watched her battle internally with herself. Deciding that he'd been forward enough earlier, he'd let her run the show for the time being. Just to see where she took it. A sudden determined look light up in her eyes and she twisted, leaning the majority of her weight on her leg. Balancing the rest of her weight on her hand, she used the other hand to cup his face. He let her prod at his face, watching calmly as she studied his face. Her eyes met his and for a moment, she paused while staring directly into his eyes.

She waited for the ominous flicker of blue to gold but nothing happened. When he didn't push her away, she leaned in further and continued to caress him like some dangerous animal. "Xin? What about earlier?" Gaara asked slowly, wondering where exactly she would take this. His voice broke her out of her hypnotic gaze and she blinked twice.

"I….I don't know," Xin admitted with a confused expression. She pulled her hand away slowly, eyebrows pinched. "It's weird, don't you think? Between us? Why are we kissing each other like this? People don't just randomly kiss each other," She babbled almost nervously, eyes searching the room.

Gaara shifted, leaning all of his weight back on his hands. "Do you really need an answer?" He asked instead of answering her. "Stop overanalyzing everything," He chastised her, watching in amusement as her mouth pinched irritably.

"Are...are you actually telling me to relax? You, of all people?" She huffed and began to pull her hand away. "That's rich," she muttered, twitching when he caught her by the hand at the last second.

"But it's true," Gaara shrugged one shoulder, playing with her slim fingers. He studied the litter of scars across her hands, some very small while others were large and apparent. His hands, although much larger, showed no signs of wear and tear like hers. That always caught his attention. "Why did you slap Sasori?"

Xin's face twisted up. "Because he deserved to be slapped? He could have thrown all of this shit to the dirt if the wrong person overhead," Xin grumbled, using her free hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. "I mean, honestly, what possessed him to tell the man I'm marrying that we shared a moment? We shared nothing."

Gaara shrugged. "He claimed that you're unhappy," He tore his gaze away from her worn hands to look into her face. She stared back with a blank look in her eyes, a soft frown gracing her lips.

"And who is he to decide if I'm happy or not? That's the problem with men, they're always trying to decide things for women. They always want to be someone's hero or something. If I'm unhappy, I'll tell you I'm unhappy. Have I told you that I'm unhappy?"

"No but you constantly act it."

"But did I tell you I'm unhappy?"

"No."

Xin nodded firmly. "Then unless I tell you otherwise, don't worry about it."

At this, Gaara's face twisted into thought. "Why wouldn't I worry if you're unhappy?"

"Why would you?"

Gaara's eye twitched. They were talking in circles. Whenever she asked a question, he'd answer with his own question. They'd stare and then the cycle of question after question would be repeated. They weren't going to solve anything if things continued this way. By the expression on her face, he figured Xin was realizing the same thing.

"You'd worry if I'm unhappy because you care about me. Do you really care about me, Gaara?" She answered her own question, tilting her head to the side. She expected him not to answer or answer with another question that had them talking in circles. And she wasn't sure if she wanted him to answer anyway.

Because what if he said no? What if he really didn't care about her? An ache settled in the very middle of her chest, blooming and unfurling like some elaborate flower. Should she really care if he didn't care about her? Something (_probably that damn voice_) told her that she shouldn't care. This was the man that ruined her life. He snatched her freedom from right under her feet, leaving her in a heap of a semi-domesticated life.

The things she had worked hard to achieve in Konoha meant shit here if she was to be confined to the role of a wife or just a simple medic. Roles she hadn't aspired to be. Like her Mother, just a housewife giving birth every few years to children. Strong boys and smart girls. That's all she was meant for. That's what they were trying to conform her to be.

Xin glanced up, catching his gaze. The ache in her chest lessened. "Yes," He replied simply. Easily. Her brows drew together and her lips pinched. The ache subsided, beaten into submission by his simple and short answer. Yes. Yes, he cared for her. She blinked rapidly. "But it's different. It's not like how I care for Temari or Kankuro," He began to say, wondering if Xin could figure out what he couldn't. Xin only eyed him, face relaxed of any emotion. "It's hard to explain, I just know that I care for you. A lot."

Finally her face broke and she laughed. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're trying to tell me that you have feelings for me or something," Xin continued to laugh, face breaking with glee. When Gaara didn't join in on her laughing, she ceased at once. "Gaara…" She trailed off slowly, like she was scolding a wayward child. He boldly stared back at her. "I know better though, don't I?"

The young kage only shrugged. "I don't know, Xin. It's hard to tell, it's not like I've ever had deep feelings for anyone before, what do you expect?"

She shot him a cross look. "I expect you to hate me. You said this wasn't a marriage of—"

"I know what I said Xin, you don't have to keep reminding me."

"Yes! Yes I do need to keep reminding you! You're screwing up our dynamics, dammit. You're not supposed to like me, you're supposed to hate me. You've said it before!"

Xin had jumped up at that point, throwing her work to the side. She regarded him with an almost frantic look. Gaara stood slowly, hands held up in a placating gesture. She watched him with wide, almost teary, eyes and tensed shoulders.

"Do you want me to hate you?"

"Everyone else does," She grumbled like a dejected child. He was sure that wasn't true, no one really hated her. Well, Hatsune hated her. And so did Kimi and Satoru but to be fair, she did torture those two. Her family certainty didn't hate her, her behavior probably unnerved them but they didn't hate her. They couldn't hate her, they were her family.

"Xin," He uttered very quietly, settling his hands over her shoulders. "You sound like a child, no one hates you," Gaara let out a small chuckle at her pouted lips. His hands slipped away from her shoulders to cup her face, thumbs brushing her cheekbones. "I don't hate you."

She smiled almost ruefully. "Course you don't hate me. You're developing feelings for me, for God's sake."

"Why would that be such a horrible thing?"

"Because I'm a bad woman to keep."

The room was once again silent as Gaara silently mulled over her words. "This is harder than I thought," Gaara muttered more to himself than to her. His siblings had once tried to explain to him what loving someone felt like. Baki had interjected, gruffly stating that love wasn't something you could just explain. Love was something that had to be felt. Needless to say, his siblings had been slightly disturbed that their gruff and unfeeling teacher had said that and Gaara still didn't understand.

But then Xin came along, forcing him to feel a whirlwind of emotions in the span of six or seven months. But it wasn't really her that made him all aware of his strange feelings.

It was Sasori.

Sasori was one of his villagers and he couldn't just kill him because the other man developed feelings for his fianceé. Or maybe he could, he had to speak with Baki. But he was angry that the other man had the audacity to not only kiss her but to blatantly tell him that he'd kissed her. It made him realize that If Xin wanted to, she could pursue another relationship since they weren't actually together.

It was not unheard of in arranged marriages for one to seek out other relationships besides your partner. Especially if the marriage was sour. Their relationship wasn't sour but the romantics weren't established either. If Xin felt like she deserved comfort with someone else, what would stop her from seeking it elsewhere? Their marriage was only business as he once stated. And she reminded him of his words frequently, much to his displeasure.

Gaara was determined to change all of that. He was positive that their dynamics wouldn't really change as Xin feared. They would still bicker relentlessly, she would still manage to get under his skin and he would blatantly point out her obnoxiousness. He looked down into her face. Her shoulders were relaxed but she still looked slightly panicked. It wasn't going to be easy but he was determined to prove to her that she did deserve happiness. "You're not a bad woman," He finally said. "You're crazy but not bad," He reassured her with a hint of amusement. Xin slowly smiled and sighed, reaching up to rub at the back of his hand. "Either way, it's late. We should get some rest."

Her brow puckered. "We? You're going to sleep? How? You have insomnia," she pointed out. And besides that, where the hell did he plan on sleeping? Certainly not in the bed with her.

"That disgusting medicine you made from the poison does its job."

Xin gaped, jaw unhinging. She didn't expect him to actually use the stuff. God and that stuff smelled awful. Maybe she could put flavoring in it to ward off the taste. "It tastes like shit, doesn't it?" She asked, not really expecting an answer. The stench of it was enough to tell her that it tasted awful. She felt a little bad now. If his tastebuds weren't already dead from Temari's cooking, that sleep aide would murder the rest of them.

Gaara chuckled and leaned down, pressing his lips to her forehead. He pulled away and turned, gathering her heap of work strewn across the bed. "Come on, it's time for bed," Gaara waved her over after dropping the thick folder on the table. Xin only stared warily, frowning.

"You're gonna sleep in here?"

"Yes."

"...in the bed?"

"Well, that's the idea."

"...with me?"

Gaara slumped his shoulders, growing impatient with all of her questions. "Who else sleeps in the bed?" He asked simply, turning away and moving towards the desk. Xin watched as he picked through the drawers, finding the vial of sleep medication. She didn't even know he kept the stuff in there.

"Sometimes I let Ume sleep with me," Xin answered airily. "It's just...well, don't you think it'll be weird to share my bed?"

Gaara unscrewed the vial and gulped it down, face cringing at the taste. Xin noted that it was only a couple of gulps left. He placed the vial back into the drawer and approached the bed again. "It isn't your bed, Xin. Don't you remember what you said when you destroyed my room? Nothing is mine and nothing is just yours. It's ours. Our room, our couch, our lamp_, our bed_," He had the gall to shoot her a condescending smirk. She grumbled and rolled her eyes but approached the right side of the bed.

"Fine but this is my side of the bed, alright? That's something that we can separately claim. My side is the right side and yours is the weird left side," Xin explained with no room for argument, pulling the blanket back. Gaara blinked sluggishly but nodded. Xin couldn't help but to smile and crawled under the blanket first. She snuggled deep into the pillows, letting out a content sigh as her body relaxed. A moment later, the bed dipped from his sudden weight and she felt warmth at her back.

Xin slept peacefully through the night.

* * *

_Xin's P.O.V_

Despite my very weird conversation with Gaara about feelings and all that sappy shit, much didn't change between us. Well, he seemed more patient to put up with my antics but for the most part, we still went about our days as usual.

It was strange to know someone had feelings for you. Did he expect me to readily admit that I also had feelings for him? Did I have feelings for him? Did he want to fall for me? Did he want me to fall for him? I sighed loudly, dropping my head down against the desk. How in the blue fuck did Hinata and Sakura live like this? How could they pine after someone who was too blockheaded to see what was in front of them? Oh my God, was I the blockhead? Oh my God, I'm the blockhead.

"Oh, _Godddddddddd_," I whined into the desk. "Why, God? Why me? What did I do to deserve this?"

"Is this a bad time?"

I jerked up, completely surprised to see Baki standing in the doorway. "Baki! For fuck's sake, put a damn bell around your neck!" I exclaimed, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"A Shinobi wearing a bell around their neck? That would defeat the purpose, my Lady," He pointed out, stepping into the room.

"Oh, shove off," I grumbled tiredly. "What can I do for you? You're not unwell, are you?" I asked, knowing that a visit from Gaara's former Sensei was something out of the blue.

Baki shook his head. "Do not worry yourself, I am well. I've come to discuss something with you…" He trailed off, dark eyes flickering towards the corner of the room. I followed his gaze and realized Minori was still there. She was taking her promise to Ukyo very seriously. She was reading something, probably one of Ukyo's stupid romance novels. I rolled my eyes, cheeks balanced against my fist.

"Oh! Right. Uh, Minori!"

The young girl nearly jumped out of her skin at my voice. "Y-Yes, my Lady?" She pulled at the hem of her sleeve. She had done well to keep her promise to Ukyo, periodically checking in with me throughout the day. She still twitched a lot but she wasn't stuttering as bad. Although she'd probably start to stutter again if I plucked her or something. I frowned thoughtfully and tapped my nails against the desktop.

"Could you run down to that cafe I like? You know, the one I usually order lunch from? Could you get Shrimp and rice for me and salted tongue and gizzard for my disgusting fiancé?" I asked politely, rifling through my drawers for my money pouch. Minori only nodded, probably glad to leave. Being alone in a room with me for too long unnerved her. She took the pouch and bowed to Baki and I before sprinting out of the room. We waited a good five minutes before Baki approached my desk. I stood up and rounded it to sit on the edge of it, arms folded across my chest.

"I have a favor to ask of you, my Lady."

"Drop the title, Baki. You know I hate it," I waved the title off before he could say much else. If no one was around, there was no use for it. Besides, I liked Baki enough anyway, he was something like family to the Sand Siblings and because of that, I felt a certain attachment towards him. Therefore, there wasn't any need for stiff and formal titles between the two of us.

"I'm sure you know of Sagara Genji's recent campaign to join Suna's council," Baki began to say, not missing a beat. I nodded along to his words but said nothing else. I really wasn't interested in the political junk but I knew a few things here and there. Mostly because of Gaara, obviously. "And I understand you're overseeing his wife's pregnancy?"

"This is true."

Baki nodded quietly and I tilted my head to the side. "There's obviously a reason you're asking about Asuna's pregnancy. What do you want to know and what do you want me to do?" I asked plainly. I'm sure I sounded rude and impatient but I never was one for beating around the bush. If Baki was offended from my impatient urging, he didn't show it. Maybe he was just used to be blunt ways.

"I want you to keep an eye on Genji."

"You want me to stalk him?"

"I didn't say that."

I shot him a pointed look with a tight frown. "Why?" I asked. Had Genji done something already to earn Baki's distrust? He seemed like a nice guy and Asuna seemed to be ecstatic to have her husband around. I really didn't know him too well but then again, I ask didn't really care enough to get to know him.

"We've been keeping track of all the suspicious activity that's been surrounding Kiri."

"Like the poison worms that I keep pulling out of people?"

"Yes. We really didn't think too much of it when Gaara informed us that you removed one from Matsuri but now that we've lost a Shinobi because of it, plus the one you forcefully put into Kimi, we have our suspicions."

"And Genji is conveniently from Kiri," I puckered my lips is wry amusement. "And you want me to watch for anything that would give us reason to exile him or even terminate him?" I tapped my foot. Seems like I wasn't the only one becoming suspicious of Kiri. Or at least I wasn't the only suspicious of what was coming out of Kiri into Suna. Now if only Gaara could open his damn eyes...

"More or less."

"Mm," I nodded along to his words. "Does Gaara know you're asking me this? And why are you even asking _me_?" I asked, I'm pretty sure they had ninjas lined up for these specific reasons. I was, after all, just a simple medic. At least, I was posing as one. Baki sighed and he suddenly looked a whole lot older. Council work could do that to you. You get older a lot faster and your body becomes weary. Being a ninja was a lot easier. You didn't really have to worry about the political bullshit.

"I'm asking you because I know that if Genji becomes a danger to Suna, you wouldn't hesitate to kill him on my orders."

"You mean Gaara's orders."

"You and I both know that Gaara would not want to order someone's death. Ever since he encountered that weird blond from your village all those years ago and turned his life around, he's convinced that anyone can change their life around with the right outlook," He stated gruffly. I pursed my lips, knowing I couldn't disagree. "My student is a good person, he became a good person. Unfortunately, some deeds must be done in the dark in order to retain peace. You understand that, don't you?"

Rolling my neck around until something cracked, I sighed. "I do understand," I confirmed. "So if we find out he's been in on this sudden infestation, you want me to get rid of him?"

"That's what I'm saying."

"Now when you say get rid of him, do you mean exile him back to Kiri or do you mean drag his rotten carcass out to the desert and let wildlife pick at his eyeballs until he dies from heatstroke, blood loss or anything else?"

"...Have you thought about doing that to someone?"

"...You really want me to answer?"

Baki only shook his head. I grinned back at him and chuckled. "Alright, I can do that for you," I nodded my head. "If you can do something for me," I smiled innocently. Baki shot me a dry look. "Oh, come on, you know how pissed Gaara would be if he found out you're asking me to stalk one of his villagers? And you know I have that horrible habit of just babbling. You know what they say, loose lips sink ships."

He glared at me this time, not amused with my smooth talking. I only shrugged one of my shoulders. "It's really not a hard favor, it's not like I'm asking you to stalk or kill anyone…"

"What do you want, Xin?"

I resisted the urge to do a victory dance. "All I want is for you to get the council to shut the fuck up about kids."

"We have to discuss your language."

I waved it off. "I'm being serious. The council has been discreetly hinting at having kids and I'm not for it, Baki. I agreed to marry young, I didn't agree to become a young Mother."

"But you are willing to become a Mother when the time is right."

"I didn't say that and you know it."

Baki folded his arms and shrugged with barely a hint of amusement in his eyes. "I just need all the facts beforehand."

I made a weird noise that gurgled from my throat. I dropped my arms only to pinch the bridge of my nose. "I don't know, Baki. Don't you think it's too soon to ask about children? I barely like Gaara."

"Does he feel the same way?"

"Baki," I narrowed my eyes at him. His expression didn't change under my hawk-like gaze.

"When you first arrived here, the two of you could not sit in a room unsupervised. You constantly bickered and bantered with one another and nearly getting to the point of physical violence," He droned on. I pursed my lips innocently. Sure. Nearly. "And now you're concerned about how he would feel about you watching and willing to kill Genji. Temari even tells me you have lunch together and you don't seem bothered with his preference for salted tongue and gizzard."

I made a face. "That shit is disgusting and you know it."

"But you still remember to order it because you know it's his favorite."

I rolled my neck again but this time, nothing cracked. I huffed in irritation and rolled my eyes towards him. "What are you trying to get me to admit, Baki? That I like Gaara? Cuz' I don't," I stated easily, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Your poker face is phenomenal."

I narrowed my eyes and shook my head. "I'll keep an eye out for Genji. Minori is coming down the hall with lunch."

Baki nodded, face slipping back into a mask of indifference. A slow smile crept across my face and I nodded back just as the door opened. "Thank you for your time, my Lady. Stay well."

I gestured to Minori that it was okay to come in. "You're welcome, Baki-san. Same to you," I waved him off. Minori timidly stepped aside to let Baki leave. I turned to her, smile still in place. "Thank you, Minori. I appreciate it," I thanked her, trying to remember to be kind. Ukyo would have a shitshow if she came back and found out I was terrorizing her best friend. "Ukyo should be coming back soon, shouldn't she?" I asked as I took the takeout bag and motioned that we were leaving the office. Minori grabbed whatever she came with and caught up with me, shutting my door behind her.

"T-That's right," she pulled at her sleeve. I watched the nervous tic with a quirked brow but didn't comment on it. Gaara did say she was twitchy whenever I'm around her. That just meant she was hiding something.

"Mm, I miss her."

Minori nodded and I dipped through an alley. Minori followed after me and I smiled, humming softly. About halfway through, I spun and grabbed her by the neck. With no effort (_did this girl even eat? She weighed like ten pounds_) I slammed her against the wall. I hummed a little louder and tightened my grip on her neck when she threatened to scream. "Now, now, little twitchy squirrel," I cooed, digging my nails into the soft flesh of her neck.

"I'm not gonna kill you," I paused, puckering my lips in thought. "I'm not gonna kill you right now, at least. _But_, I'm letting you know this now, twitchy one. I know you've got some hidden agenda or some shit. Gaara and Ukyo may be blinded in their siege of proving that everyone is good and all that bullshit, but I'm not. If whatever you're hiding is going to negatively impact Ukyo, Gaara or anyone of Suna, I will tear your organs out and stuff them down your throat. And then I'll watch as you slowly bleed to death while choking on your innards."

Minori shook in my grasp but I didn't let up, sinking my nails into her throat until she began to bleed. "Do you understand me?" I asked eerily. She gave a little nod and I let go, stepping back as she fell to a heap in the sand. She clawed at her throat, gulping in mouthfuls of air. I watched with an uninterested gleam in my eyes, empty hand on my hip. Rolling my eyes, I squatted down. Minori instantly scrambled backwards.

"I know Sasori, Jura and Ukyo have constantly joked around that I am paranoid," I began to say with an unrelenting stare. "But know this, it is not a joke and I take my paranoia very seriously," I told her, feeling the veins around my eyes thicken. My Byakugan traced the weak lines of her Chakra and Minori pressed herself into the wall.

She tried to hold my gaze, I give her that, but she eventually looked away. "I..I understand, my Lady," she finally said. Something about the way she spoke my title irked me but I brushed it off. Smiling kindly, I slowly stood up. I slid the bag of takeout to my wrist and bent, grabbing her under her arms and hefting her up.

"I'm glad we could have this chat, Minori," I cooed, dusting her of sand. "Get home safe, yeah? There's going to be a sandstorm tonight," I hummed pleasantly before leaving her in the alleyway.

Minori narrowed her eyes.

* * *

Moonlightkiss1515: Yes, competition would be good for Gaara. He's too comfortable with just being the only one attracted to Xin, hm?

FreeHugs0009: Long live My Chemical Romance is all I'm saying, lol. Thank you love, I appreciate the feedback

Akari: I had a feeling someone was gonna be like 'I KNEW IT' when Sasori kissed Xin, lol. Sasori is pretty sexy but Xin only has eyes for Gaara, it seems, haha. You are right, there has been a lot of steam between them for like five stories. I'm glad I'm finally writing it out. Not too much sexytime this time around but their feelings (well, more so Gaara's feelings) are starting to establish.

Shakilove: Yes, if they want an honest relationship, they're going to have to be truthful with one another. Too bad Xin has been hiding a shitload of things from Gaara but I'm sure she'll tell him eventually.

Apollo Child1512: I'm glad someone else likes Soul Calibur! Mina has always been my bae, ever since the start in Soul Edge!

BrokenSouloftheDarkness: It was like five am when I read your review and I just broke out into laughter. Don't worry though, Xin will get around to meeting with Mikoto, Mama Uchiha will not be happy though when she does though lol.

yasssrenaeXD: Jura and Xin are just besties, don't worry. I mean, he does have a crush on her but I think he's more afraid of Gaara. Jura and Xin are just bros. Xin has no romantic feelings for Jura at all.

CaptainToast321: I appreciate your review but I am not forcing you to continue with reading my story. If you feel like their characteristics are boring you, you are free to find other stories that will hold your interest. Democracy, dictatorship, whatever, it's my damn story and I will do as I please as long as the majority reading this likes it. Thanks though for your input, boo.

Carri007: I wasn't able to reply last chapter so I hope you're still reading but I really liked your review. No one has ever told me they liked Xin but still hated her. I was thinking about that while editing this chapter and I was like, wow, Carri is right. Every time you think Xin is losing her sadistic edge, she does something like threatening to disembowel Minori. Sometimes I don't even notice that, so thank you so much for your review. I know a lot of her sadism came through in this chapter but hopefully you still root for her in the long run! Hope you're still with us!


	18. I want to suffer for my sins

I yawned obnoxiously as I wandered sluggishly down to the kitchen. I paused, rubbing at the back of my head as the wonderful smell of coffee wafted towards me. That was strange though, since I was the only one home this early in the morning.

Temari and Kankuro still hadn't come home with Hatsune and Ukyo, much to my growing annoyance. I doubted they were dead but they sure as hell were taking their sweet time. I stepped into the kitchen and looked around, wondering who in the blue hell had brewed coffee so early in the morning. Shrugging it off, I struggled to reach my favorite coffee mug. "Fuck it all," I whined and climbed the counter, swiping my mug.

I was still half asleep even after finishing my first cup of coffee. A shadow flitted by in the corner of my eye and looked towards our backyard. Tilting my head to the side, I slowly crept towards the window. It was way too early for people to be sneaking around in my backyard. I didn't have the time, patience or energy for an attempted murder. Stopping at the window, I peered out into the yard only to blanch in surprise. It wasn't some random rogue or something like that. It was Gaara, training. My mouth dropped into a small 'o' in surprise as he flitted back and forth. "Oooh," I hummed, watching the muscles in his back bunch up. "Those are nice," I mused cheekily, eyes tracing his shoulders.

Setting my cup down on the window sill, I rubbed the back of my head and slowly stepped outside. The sun had barely risen and it was a little chilly but nothing I couldn't handle. "Did you brew coffee?" I asked, stepping down the stairs. Luckily the sand was cool to my feet as I approached him. He took a pause, taking in a deep breath before turning towards me. I smiled, hands folded behind my back.

Gaara nodded. "I thought you were going to sleep in a little longer though," He shrugged one of his shoulders. Today was supposed to be a day off and I was planning on sleeping in but the smell of coffee had ruined that.

"Eh," I pursed my lips. "Training without your gourd? This is how you keep in shape, hm?" I hummed, eyes discreetly tracing the lines of his muscles that I didn't normally get to see.

"This is how I keep in shape, yes," He nodded. "Would you like to spar?" He suddenly asked, catching me off guard. My eyebrows shot up my forehead, past my messy bangs.

"Uh, no offense or anything, like I know you're this awesome ninja and everything. I mean, you _are_ the _Kazekage_ and I'm just a kunoichi but I _specialize_ in hand to hand combat, Gaara. You, on the other hand, you don't. Don't you think that'd be a little unfair? Besides, don't boys hate losing to girls?"

Gaara looked unimpressed. "No, no, I think I'll just watch from afar, no one gets hurt that way—oh my God!" I shrieked and ducked out of the way of being kicked in the head. "Jesus Christ!"

I slid back, throwing up sand everywhere. "Really?" I hissed at him, body slipping into a defensive form. "That was dirty," I pointed out, trying to watch for his next move. He said nothing, a slight smirk pulling at his lips. I narrowed my eyes.

I moved first, dropping down and going for his legs. He dodged the sweep of my leg and retaliated by trying to stomp my head in. I rolled out of the way. I tried to kick at his knee, which would have broken it but he dodged again.

I bounced up, flinging my body at him. I collided into him, tackling him to the sand. He grunted, probably more from the impact of hitting the ground. I raised my hand, fist ready to beat his face black and blue.

Gaara was just a bit faster than me and punched me straight in the chest. The wind was knocked out of me and Gaara tossed me to the side like I was some rag doll. The sand bit at my skin and I gritted my teeth. Gaara followed after me, bringing his leg back to kick me in the side of my head.

I caught his foot instead of dodging and twisted, forcing him away from me long enough to get back to my feet. We watched each other for a beet before flying at one another. I kicked. He dodged. He punched. I blocked. It was a little frustrating that he was holding his own against me like this.

Gaara threw a punch that I caught. With a heave, I dropped into a roll and placed my foot on his chest. With a strong heft _(he was a whole lot heavier than I assumed)_ I tossed him over me. Gaara landed in the sand with a hard grunt and I grinned, turning towards him.

His smirk was gone and he looked a little irritated while he dusted some sand away. I continued to grin. I darted towards him, feeling the sand under me vibrate. I only had a split second to gather my wits when a short pillar of sand erupted right in front of me. I nearly tripped into it but I jumped over it, using it as a board to fling myself towards Gaara.

He slid out of the way of me straight-legging him. I twisted around so fast that I could have broken my damn ankle. I threw a quick punch, expecting him to dodge. Instead, I punched him squarely in the face.

"Oh my God!" I shouted, battle mood completely shattering. My hands flew up, covering my mouth and nose is horror. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry," I squeaked, dropping my defensive stance to hurry over to him. I'm positive that with the force of that punch, his nose was bleeding. Or worse, was broken.

Blood leaked past past his hand and I knew his nose was definitely bleeding. "I thought you were gonna dodge or something, come here so I can heal your nose," I said apologetically, approaching him to grab his arm. Realizing that with our vast height difference, healing would be difficult for me, so I led him to the back porch.

With him sitting on the stairs, I knelt in front of him and slowly coaxed his hand away from his bloody nose. I gently prodded at his nose to make sure nothing had broken. When I felt nothing broken, I yanked my wrinkled shirt off to dab the blood away. Thankfully, I had worn a bra this morning. Once most of the blood was gone, I stopped the blood flow entirely with just a spark of Chakra.

It was silent as I continued to kneel in front of him, rolling my lips into a nervous smile. "I'm sorry, honestly, I thought you would dodge or block or something," I apologized, placing my hands on his legs so I wouldn't lose my balance from kneeling for so long.

Gaara rubbed his nose softly, probably to make sure I really had healed it. Knowing how vindictive and spiteful I was, he was probably trying to make sure I hadn't made it worse. I felt a little bad that he probably thought so poorly of me. But then again what did I expect? I was usually temperamental and vindictive towards him. I constantly threatened him and rarely was I ever pleasant towards him.

….why did he like me?

I mean, not that he admitted to liking me. Just that he had deep feelings for me. Which sounded a lot like liking me.

"Even without your Chakra," Gaara finally started to speak. "you still have a pretty strong punch," He said, slight amusement shining in those pretty eyes. My shoulders instantly slumped, relieved that he wasn't pissed that I clocked him directly in the face.

"Told you I specialized in hand to hand combat," I muttered out of the side of my mouth in humor. I might have had taijutsu over him but I'm sure Gaara would whoop my ass if we were sparring with our ninjutsu skills. "And anyway, you cheated. I thought this was just a regular spar, you tried to trip me up with that sand pillar," I pointed out, poking at his leg.

"I never said it was a regular spar. I just asked if you wanted to spar," Gaara shrugged one of his shoulders casually. I only stared at him, slightly weirded out by his lax personality as of late. I huffed and shifted until I was sitting down next to him. A comfortable silence settled over us as the sun slowly crept over the horizon. We continued to sit out there until the cool early morning turned hot, muggy and slightly windy. The sunlight and sand began burning my skin and I quickly suggested that I prepared breakfast.

Even after breakfast was over and I decided to practice with the naginata, Gaara still hadn't left. He practiced with his gourd. When I decided to clean the house, he offered a helping hand. We were in the middle of cleaning out the spoiled food in the refrigerator when the front door opened. "Mm?" I scowled at the spoiled carton of milk before turning to the archway of the kitchen. A weary Temari and Kankuro appeared. "Oh, you're back!" I grinned widely, setting the carton down on the counter. "Where's Ukyo? Wow, you guys look like shit. And you smell like shit too," I babbled, going to greet them. Neither of them look impressed.

"Xin, that's not how we greet people," Gaara stated tonelessly, leaning against the sink. I turned to him, pouting like a child I claimed I wasn't. "It's rude," He reminded me with his arms folded across his chest. His siblings eyed him, Temari glanced towards the clock. It was nearly one in the afternoon and he was still home.

I sighed dramatically and rolled my eyes. "Right, right. I'm working on being a better person, I forgot," I grumbled, recalling that conversation I had with him before leaving for Konoha. "How are you guys? Are you hurt?" I asked as politely as I could. They didn't look hurt to me. Just really tired and irritated.

"We're fine, no serious injuries," Temari said first, dropping down at the kitchen table. "A little lunch wouldn't hurt," She smiled weakly, looking at me. I shrugged my shoulders and decided that lunch would be a good idea for the four of us. I picked through the food we had left in the fridge and frowned before deciding on making Miso Soup with Shiitake Mushrooms. That'd be a quick and easy meal.

"Oi, we need to go grocery shopping. Will you come with me after lunch?" I asked Gaara, watching as the vegetable broth began to boil in the saucepan. I threw in the mushrooms and gathered the Miso paste, soy sauce and tofu. I glanced at Gaara, ignoring his siblings' confused stares.

"Sure, make a list."

"You make the list, I'm cooking."

"I don't know what we need, Xin."

"We need food, Gaara."

"Well, that narrows it down, doesn't it?"

Despite our bickering, there was no ill feelings and it was quite obvious as I laughed instead of having a comeback. "Alright, not that I like raining on parades and whatnot but….what's going on here? Did I miss something? Did something happen while we were gone?" Kankuro suddenly asked, much to my amusement. Temari looked a little bewildered but there was also a knowing twinkle in her eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Kankuro," I hummed airily. "You didn't miss anything and nothing is going on. You're just tired, is all. After some Miso Soup, you should get some rest. Maybe a shower. I just changed the bedsheets and I would hate if they smelled like stale sweat," I continued to hum while cooking.

Kankuro looked extremely frustrated but Gaara remained unhelpful while Temari only shrugged. I offered a smile and continued working on cooking. When the Miso soup was finished, I dished it out for everyone and joined them at the table.

I wanted to ask about their mission but I remembered Temari's strict rule about discussing work at the table. "Sooo," I drew out with puckered lips. "How's life? How are you guys? Where's my student, did you get her killed?" I tried to ask as casually as possible. At this point, I could understand Kankuro's fierce overprotectiveness he harbored for his students. Kankuro shot me a poisonous look.

"I didn't get _my _student killed, Xin. She's fine. Hatsune took Ukyo home once we realized Gaara wasn't in at the office," Kankuro turned towards his younger brother. "Since when did you decide to take days off without telling anyone?"

"I didn't take a day off," Gaara said, pausing to drink from the teacup. I huffed and looked at my own teacup. I glanced towards the coffeepot and poked my lower lip out, drinking the tea instead. "I'm still going to the Tower, probably after we're done grocery shopping."

I zoned out after that, quietly eating my lunch and trying to ignore the strange looks. When I finished, I got up to clean up and left to put something on other than my sweaty and dusty clothes. I took a shower, washed and brushed my hair and dressed in a loose tank top with a black skirt.

When I came back downstairs, Gaara was standing by the front door. "Ready to go?" I asked, swinging my money pouch by the drawstring around my finger. He rolled his eyes and snatched the pouch before it could go flying off my finger. He shot me a reprimanding look but I only shrugged and opted to slip my sandals on instead.

"Did you make the list like I asked you to?"

"No, I thought you were up there doing it."

"I was showering."

"Why does it take you so long to shower?"

"Would you guys stop your weird flirting and just go shopping already?!" Kankuro shouted from the top of the staircase. I quirked my eyes, head cocked back as I glanced up at him. "And buy some Daifuku! I want something sweet!" Kankuro continued to shout down the stairs I blankly stared back. I could hear Temari's muffled voice from somewhere down the hall. "Oh and Temari says buy some wasabi-peas!"

"Anything else?" I called back. "And who the hell eats wasabi-peas, that's just weird!" I continued to shout as Gaara pushed me out the door. The sun grilled my pale skin and I paused, waiting as Gaara listened to more of Kankuro's last minute requests. I tapped my foot against the ground.

Gaara took his time to join me under the hot sun. I only huffed and looped my arm casually around his. The walk to the marketplace was peacefully quiet, interrupted here and there by a villager greeting us.

"Hm," I mumbled once we finally made it there. "This is what it feels like to be a normal couple, huh?" I asked with a cheeky grin.

"Enjoy it while you can," Gaara stated, making me laugh. But then again, he was right. Because whenever things seemed to settle down, something was just lurking around dark corners.

And shit was lurking.

* * *

The morning of June Thirteenth, I was rudely dragged out of bed. Literally. One minute I was sleeping and the next minute someone had grabbed my ankle. Almost instantly, I twisted my body, maneuvering until I had someone's throat nearly crushed between my thighs.

A hand slapped at my thigh and I felt hands on my shoulders. "Xin, you're going to choke him to death!" Temari exclaimed in panic. Clearly I knew I was going to choke someone to death, that was the initial plan. But then I recognized the face poking out and I cringed, instantly relaxing my grip.

Kankuro took long breaths, rubbing his throat. "Can you utilize every part of your body as a weapon?" He asked, his voice coming out raspy. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and crossed my legs under me.

"Yep."

"Ever your—"

"Yep."

Kankuro shot me a dirty look but Temari waved that off. "We don't have time. We have to get you over to the Hall to get ready."

"Ready for what?" I groaned, rubbing my eyes a little harder. Temari made a noise, probably an exasperated one, I don't know. I was still half-asleep.

"Your wedding, stupid."

Oh…..yeahhhhhhh.

In Konoha, it's a tradition that the Mother of the Bride and the Mother of the Groom help to get the bride ready for her wedding. Along with Grandmothers and Aunts. Seeing as how Gaara's Mother is dead and mine is currently a week's travel away, that left Temari and the councilwomen to help me to get ready. Which is nice and all since none of them are related to me or anything.

Except they started off by manhandling the shit out of me into a large tub. The water was scalding and I had only a second to hiss before a bucket of hot water was dumped over my head. I brushed my sopping wet hair out of my eyes, my tongue already forming a threat when someone dove into washing my hair.

Which would have been fine if they weren't secretly trying to dig half my scalp out with their freakishly sharp nails. Jesus Christ, I'm only getting married. To the Kazekage. Ah, right. I have to look perfect.

They painted my fingernails and toenails, rose-gold. I like the color, despite how girly it was. They pulled and pinned my hair, wrestling the thick mane into a heavy bun with a thin desert-flower crown woven into it. They do my makeup not like how I would do my makeup. It made my face soft and gentle versus the sharp and intimidating makeup I prefer. Whenevr I bothered with it, of course.

I stood with my hair done up and a face full of makeup, dressed in a thin pair of white panties, staring into the mirror. The woman staring back at me wasn't the woman I wanted to be.

But I suppose that didn't matter. Temari helped me into the wedding dress. It really was beautiful and it kind of sucked that I had to be slathered in coverup in order to be beautiful in it. The torso was made entirely of lace and was backless, the edges of the back coiled around my back like vines. The skirt of the dress was like silken water that rippled softly every time I shifted.

Councilwoman Mai nearly snatched out all of my ear piercings. She replaced all of the hoops with little diamond studs. She handed me a pair of fingerless gloves that extended from my elbows to the middle of my middle fingers. I was handed a pair of white high heels but I waved them off, the dress was long enough to hide the fact that I wasn't wearing shoes. Mai tried to argue me down but I refused to wear them. Temari intervened and convinced Mai that my dress would cover my bare feet.

Temari, dressed in a pretty pale pink-almost white dress with a low neckline, smiled at me. She patted my shoulder. "I know this isn't your ideal wedding but I'm so thankful that you're here with us, Xin," she said with every ounce of honesty in her body. I wordlessly stared back, noting just how nice her hair looked when it wasn't tied up in those ridiculous four ponytails.

"I know," I said after a moment's pause, a slow but small smile coming across my lips. Temari smiled back at me.

"Alright, it's time!" Kazuhiro, the crazy wedding planner suddenly burst into my makeshift dressing room. "Temari-san, will you lead the councilwomen to take their seats while I get our lovely bride ready?" He asked kindly but I knew he wouldn't really give her a choice.

Temari gave me one last smile before leading the councilwomen out. I took a deep breath and looked at Kazuhiro. "Oh, don't tell me you're getting cold feet, my Lady," Kazuhiro mused. "Understandable, seeing as how you're marrying a man far out of your league.."

I glared at him, over the span of the couple of months we spent planning, Kazuhiro and I had developed a weird relationship. We mostly spent our time together bickering over the smallest of things.

"Oh, Kazuhiro," I sighed dramatically. "Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. Tell me, how does that feel?" I retaliated, examining my nails as Kazuhiro threatened to throw something at me.

He grabbed me by my arm. "Come on, Princess," Kazuhiro dragged me towards the door. "It's time for you to get married. You'd better not waste time and let Kazekage-sama realize he's making the biggest mistake of marrying you and not the _real _love of his life."

"Let me guess, that'd be you?"

"Of course, who else?"

I shook my head, rolled my eyes and allowed the crazy wedding planner to lead me through several hallways. He gave me several instructions that I was just bound to ignore all for the sake of pissing him off.

We rounded a corner and I jerked to a hard stop. With his arm wrapped around mine, Kazuhiro was forced to stop, nearly tripping over his feet. Sometimes I forgot that he was just a regular civilian.

Standing at the double doors, dressed in a formal kimono was Hiashi. I gaped at the sight of my Father, not able to comprehend what the hell he was doing in Suna. Kazuhiro glanced in between us, smiling. Oh, Christ. He probably thought this was going to be a heartfelt reunion. "Fifteen minutes, Princess," He stated before walking off. He was probably gonna go scream at someone until they cried.

"Uh, Father?" I asked as if it could be anyone else. I approached him, ready for some type of confrontation. "...what are you doing?"

Hiashi looked at me with a funny expression. "I'm waiting for you," He answered simply.

"Well, yes, I can see that but...uh...why?"

"To walk you down the aisle. Who else was going to do it?"

"I was going to do it myself?"

Hiashi sighed heavily and reached for me. Why I didn't back away was beyond me. My Father cupped my face. His thumbs brushed my cheekbones and I realized this was the most affection Hiashi had ever shown me. "From the moment you could hold a Kunai knife, you have done things yourself. Your Mother and I have stood aside as you've done things on your own. You have grown from a rambunctious child, to a moody teenager into a fierce young woman."

I had no idea where he was going with this.

"And as your parents, we've done nothing for you."

Ah, that's where he's going with this.

"Father," I sighed heavily, knowing that now wasn't the time for heart-felt moments. Which was kind of funny because for a very long time, those are the words I wanted to hear my proud Father say. I wanted him to admit to his failure as a Father towards me. I wanted to gloat about the woman I became without him.

Granted, I was a tad too sadistic and freakishly paranoid but I was _alive. _I was strong, fierce and independent. And I'd done it all without his help.

I didn't feel like gloating.

I pursed my lips thoughtfully, looking into Hiashi's face. "I….I…." I struggled to figure out what I was supposed to say at this point. Did I forgive him? Did I still feel some sort of way even though he admitted to his mistakes?

I did. I may not have felt the need to gloat but I still felt a stinging pain from my screwed up childhood. And if I still felt some sort of way, maybe it wasn't time to accept his words.

"I….Father, I have to get married," I fumbled to say something. Hiashi only nodded, brushing his thumbs against my cheekbones one last time before turning towards the door, arm held up. I slipped my hand into the crook of his elbow. Kazuhiro suddenly came around the corner, talking a mile per minute. "Shut up, Kazuhiro, Jesus," I rolled my eyes, causing the wedding planner to shut his mouth. He glared viciously at me and I heard Hiashi sigh. Some things would never change.

At the start of the music, I felt my stomach and heart drop to my knees. It was kind of funny because a lot of things didn't make me nervous. "You'll do fine, Xin," Hiashi suddenly offered right before the doors swung open dramatically. Well, Christ, I was not ready. Kazuhiro probably did that on purpose. Hiashi patted my hand and whisked me down to my fiancé.

I tried not to gape as familiar faces popped out in the corner of my eye. My sisters, Neji and my Mother sat in the front. Behind them sat Sasuke, Itachi and _(holy shit, she's gonna kill me_) Mikoto. The rest were full of my friends. What in the fuck were they doing here? Okay, maybe not _what_ but _how_? When did this even happen? How the fuck did they get to Suna without me finding out?

I was so surprised that I missed my Father giving me away to Gaara. I felt his grip on my arm vanish and Gaara's hands slip around mine. I blinked out of my stupor and carefully stepped up to him. I frowned once I got a good look at him. He was dressed in a normal black suit and he looked marvelous in it. It's just…._his hair_. His usual messy hairstyle was combed to perfection, not a strand of hair out of place.

My discomfort with his hair must have been evident because the priest marrying us peered at me with a soft frown. "My Lady? Are you alright?" He asked quietly. I could hear some of the councilmembers whispering lowly among each other. They probably thought I was getting cold feet and was readying to catch me the moment I took off.

"It's just…" I rolled my lips together, not really caring that a hall full of people were waiting anxiously for me to do _something. _Huffing irritably, I leaned on the very tips of my toes and sank my fingers into his hair. Sticking my tongue out in concentration, I mussed up his neatly combed hair until it looked how it usually looked. I sank back to the flat of my feet and nodded in satisfaction. "There, all better."

Someone, (_I think it might have been Naruto)_, guffawed loudly. Someone shifted and I'm sure that was the sound of Sakura or Sasuke smacking him in retaliation. I expertly ignored it, smiling brightly before turning to the Priest. I said nothing but nodded, motioning him to continue.

I had to remember to steady my breathing and I hoped my hands weren't shaking too hard. It was obvious that Gaara could feel my hands quivering and he did a good job by hiding the shaking in his larger hands. I could see the slight question in his eyes as the Priest droned on and on about love and happiness and other bullshit that was supposed to go hand in hand with marriage. I blushed, kind of embarrassed that marrying him was making me so nervous. I recited the vows that we rehearsed over a thousand times, smiling when he said his. They weren't overly sappy but it was kind of funny to hear Gaara declare his love for me.

"You may kiss the bride."

Oh, this was an important part, I chided myself to pay more attention. I threw my arms over his shoulders, fingers twirled together behind his head. I smiled a secret smile, trying hard not to break out into giggles. How in the hell had we convinced all these people, his friends, his village, my friends and family, that we were actually in love?

I felt his hands slip around my waist and felt my stomach pull. It wasn't a bad pull. It was one of those pulls I felt right before I was about to kill someone. It was a pull I liked.

That probably wasn't good.

I leaned the majority of my weight on him, knowing he could support me just fine. I was back on the tips of my toes, trying to make up the vast height difference. With practiced ease, I kissed him. Or, he kissed me. We kissed each other? Whatever. We kissed. And it was nice, soft and drawn-out, just like Mai instructed us.

There was a slight hitch to my breath when we parted. I suddenly went deaf to the sudden applause erupting from the hall. All I could process was the very small but very beautiful smile across Gaara's lips. Since when could a man's smile be beautiful? I wasn't sure but the one thing I was sure about was just how beautiful his smile was at that moment.

This could not be good.

* * *

"Smile!"

I turned as the hired photographer snapped a picture of Sakura, Ino, Tenten, Hinata and I. As soon as I turned to the camera, I stuck my tongue out. The photographer groaned loudly. "Honestly, my Lady, one good smile is all I need out of you. I've got about a dozen silly photos of you!"

She slunk away to capture more pictures of the ongoing reception party. "Xin, you should probably just let her have her photo of you smiling so she can stop trying to sneak up on you," Hinata advised in a sisterly fashion. She was dressed in a floor-length pale lavender gown that fit her curvy body perfectly. I was a little surprised but pushed that surprise away. She wasn't the same skittish girl anymore.

"Where's the fun in that?" I mused, eyes sweeping the party. "Besides, she's the one doing a horrible job of sneaking up on me," I pointed out with a wry smile, watching the redheaded photographer snap a photo of my newly-wedded husband standing with Naruto and Shikamaru.

"Who cares about that," Ino huffed, waving a dramatic hand. I turned to look at her, slightly jealous of her superior height. Freakin' amazon. Ino's dress was a deep purple and was borderline inappropriate but I liked it. "How's your husband in bed? You've two have known each other intimately by now, right? Don't tell me you've waited until your wedding night…" She leered at me, blue eyes sparking.

Sakura frowned with pink cheeks while Hinata's whole face turned red. Tenten expertly ignored Ino, finding her glass of sake much more interesting. I blankly stared back at her, not impressed with her nosy ways. There was no way I was having this discussion in the middle of a party.

"Shouldn't you be, oh I don't know, eye-fucking Sai from a dark corner of the room?" I asked dryly. "And by the way, when did that even happen? I can't be the only one thinking that shit is weird, can I?" I huffed, hand on my hip.

Ino narrowed her eyes at me. "Shut up, midget."

"Oooh, like I haven't heard that before."

Sakura sighed, stepping in between us to shove us out of each other's faces. "We haven't seen you in almost a year and this is how you two want to spend our time together? Bickering? Please, do us all a favor and grow up."

I regarded the pinkette for a quick moment. Ino and I exchanged looks but surrendered, huffing in defeat. Tenten, smiling as if nothing occurred, finally decided to speak up. "It's so nice to have us all together again. I really missed this," She hummed, throwing her tanned arms around Ino and I.

"I hate you all," I grumbled. Tenten pinched me.

"Uh," Hinata rolled her lips together and nodded her head. I turned and nearly ran the other way. Mikoto was looking straight at me. Oh, dear God, that Uchiha was going to kill me. I never feared Sasuke or Itachi but their Mother? Their Mother was a different story entirely. I feared their Mother like I was supposed to fear my own Mother. "Mikoto-kaa isn't happy with you, Xin," Hinata stated simply. I glared at my sister. Gee, I would have never guessed.

Instead of having my back like they were supposed to, my friends readily abandoned me for either food, sake or to dance with their date. Traitors. Even my own flesh and blood, my freakin' twin!

"Xin," Mikoto was suddenly there, smiling sweetly. Oh, but I knew. I fuckin' _knew _she was a blink away from Sharingan-ing my ass. Gentle-appearance be damned, I'd seen Mikoto lose her temper and I was not a fan on it.

"Mikoto-kaa," I laughed nervously, obviously scared. "I'm so glad you could attend," I bowed my head, taking the moment to take a deep breath. Mikoto was still smiling when I straightened back up. "I know I haven't been able to visit the last two times I went back to Konoha but I just want you to know that I did tell Itachi to say hi, I was just really busy and—"

Mikoto patted my head, causing me to stop rambling. "You have been well, little bird?" She asked kindly. "Itachi did say you weren't doing as well as you say the last time you ran into him. And what were you doing, wandering around Konoha without any shoes on?"

I almost groaned but decided not to. Mikoto wasn't a fan of groaning. "No, Mikoto-kaa, I'm well, I promise. I was just a little stressed the last time I ran into Itachi is all. I just had to get some air and I rushed outside without putting my sandals on, you know how airheaded I can be sometimes. It's no big deal."

Mikoto shot me a look. "Well," She drew in a long breath. "You could have gotten some air by visiting Fugaku and I," She pointed out, hand coming up to pick at my hair. "We haven't seen you since you left, Xin. Hiashi says you didn't even visit him the last time you were in Konoha. You briefly met with Manami-chan and left without seeing any of us."

God damn my Mother and Father for being close friends with Mikoto and Fugaku. What's up with that, anyway? I thought the Hyuga clan and the Uchiha clan were forever rivals. Why did they even talk to one another?

"I was in a rush."

"I'm so sure."

"Mikoto-kaaaaaaaaa."

Mikoto chuckled softly and shook her head. "Alright but the next time you're in Konoha, I expect to see your face, do you understand me?" She asked, her eyes flashing to blood-red for a quick second. I shrank away, very afraid of the Uchiha in front of me. I only nodded.

Mikoto nodded her head firmly before her expression changed to a softer expression. "Good. Now how soon can we expect littles ones?" She asked, completely serious. I blanched. "Manami-chan wanted to ask but she didn't feel comfortable enough so she asked me to ask."

I searched the room for Manami and found her chatting away with Gaara, Hiashi and Fugaku. Oh, God, they were probably grilling my husband on his intentions. Which was kind of stupid because we're married. His intentions were obviously clear. I think Hiashi and Manami just wanted to play the role of protective parents for once. And Fugaku loved a good interrogation. I sighed. "Dear God," I muttered, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Have you been hounding Sasuke and Itachi about having their own little ones? They are your _actual_ sons, you know," I reminded my surrogate Mother.

She was still smiling but her eyebrows drew together. "They're both too invested in their careers to even think about children," She sighed forlornly. "At least Sasuke-chan is finally dating Sakura-chan. Itachi-kun, on the other hand…." Mikoto shook her head, probably fed up with her romantically-retarded sons.

"I don't know yet, Mikoto-kaa. Gaara is invested in his own work as the Kazekage. Maybe in a couple of years," I shrugged my shoulders, not interested in having children. Ever. At the moment. I don't know.

"I'm not getting any younger."

"Nonsense, you're as young as you feel."

"I feel like I want grandchildren. Preferably grand_daughters_."

"I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure there's no way to pick a baby's gender."

"We won't know unless you try," Mikoto sung.

"Mikoto-kaa, I think I'm needed," I pointed to Gaara, who was standing patiently a few steps away from us. Mikoto pouted but relented, nodding her head. She turned towards me, gathering me up in her arms to hug very tightly. She said nothing else but did give me a look that sent chills running down my spine. She turned, smiled sweetly at Gaara, and crossed the room to join my crazy parents and her crazy-by-association husband.

"You come from an intimidating family."

"Really? A bunch of clan members intimidate you? I mean, you are a jinchuriki," I aptly reminded him as he slid his arm around my waist. "Honestly, what could they possibly do to you? You have a raging beast at your disposal."

"They could suckerpunch me in the face."

"For fuck's sake, it was an accident. I swore you were gonna dodge."

Gaara only hummed, looking towards the large space meant for a dancefloor. Music was playing, I'm not sure what, and there were couples on the floor dancing. I noted, in amusement, that Hiashi was dancing with my younger sister, Hanabi. That was cute. Naruto suddenly flew by, whisking my other sister around the dance floor to her extreme delight. To the side, I spotted Hideki blushing and attempting to ask a red-faced Ukyo to dance. At one of the tables, Shikamaru lounged away, lazily flirting with a smirking Temari.

Ino was doing exactly as I said earlier, eye-fucking the shit out of Sai. I'm pretty sure her eye-fucks were well-received but it was hard to tell because it was _Sai. _Neji and Tenten were having some sort of conversation but I could tell it was quickly becoming intimate by how close Tenten was standing to my cousin.

Asuna and Genji were dancing, somehow they managed even with her protruding belly. Hatsune, Matsuri and Sari were all sitting at the table next to Temari and Shikamaru, probably planning on kidnapping and raping my husband. Kankuro was at the buffet, stuffing his face along with Jura. I think they were having an eating contest.

Something in me ached to see Lena, Seiko and Haruka among them. I know they would have fit right in with the Suna-Konoha ratio. I smiled sadly and shook my head, hoping that they were somewhat proud of me. Even if this whole marriage was a sham.

"I didn't get a chance to tell you," Gaara said said, fingers brushing my hip. I leaned my head on his shoulder, feeling weary. "You looked lovely in your wedding dress," He stated softly, fingers still brushing my hip. I waited for him to say something else. Gaara was well-known for his backhanded compliments.

When he didn't say anything else, I glanced up at him. "Holy shit, you really meant that," I chuckled in astonishment. "You really think that wedding dress looked lovely on me. Well, aren't you sweet?"

"You are by far the worst woman I've ever had to deal with."

"Well, you better get used to it. Correct me if I'm wrong but that Priest did say—and I quote 'till death do us part'. Know what that means?"

"Yes but I'm sure you'll tell me anyway."

"You bet your fine ass I'll tell you," I grinned widely. "That means you're stuck with me until one of us kicks the bucket. Nine times out of ten, it'll be me first because I do have a tendency to find trouble wherever I go and there's that bad habit I have of shit talking in the face of danger."

"We'll have to fix those bad habits."

"Ah, don't want me dying anytime soon?"

Gaara didn't answer but he did give me a strange but deep look. It was almost as if he was bothered by talking about my death. It was kind of funny because I always joked about my death, I wouldn't be surprised if I died young. I lived for danger and eventually, the danger would catch up. I never really minded the thought of dying before.

But the mention of me dying first seemed to bother Gaara and that made me….bothered. Bothered because I didn't want to upset him with the thought of my death. Pissing him off for a laugh was different. Dying really seemed to bother him.

_Because he's in love with you._

No, he isn't. He cares deeply for me. That's different than falling in love with me. I care deeply for Naruto but you don't see me running around thinking I'm in love with him.

_Well, your sister already has dibs on him and he's not your type. He's more like a brother. _

What exactly is my type?

_Your husband._

Ha. Good one.

_You're horribly stubborn. Just admit that you do like your husband and it's very possible that you two could fall in love_.

You sound like one of Ukyo's stupid romance novels.

_Jokes on you, stupid. __I am you_. _So by default, you sound like one of Ukyo's stupid romance novels. _

Instead of answering, I willed the voice away. That voice was not me. I don't know what the fuck it was but it was not me. It couldn't be me.

Determined to get away from the voice, I blinked hard and straightened up. Gaara eyed me but said nothing as I shifted and twisted my arms around his waist. "So," I mused, leaning my chin against his chest. "Do we get a honeymoon or do we skip that since you're the Kazekage and you're too busy for one?"

Gaara looked down at me, arms thrown over my thin shoulders. "There is a hot spring resort Temari booked for us. It's an hour away."

"Ah, I see. And tell me, is that where our sexual tension finally explodes and you rip my dress off of me and I act like a blushing virgin even though I _really _want you to just fuck me unforgivably?"

"That depends. Do you _really _want to ruin that dress?"

I grinned sardonically. "I'll let you know when we get there."

"Might not have a choice by then."

I chuckled but I could see some seriousness in his eyes. That shut me up really quick. I pinched my mouth shut and realized I was treading on thin ice. There was clearly some sexual attraction going on. And while I did think Gaara was fine as fuck with a wonderful body, I don't think I was ready to actually have sex.

I heard a girl's first time hurt. Like a lot. Lena had once compared it to being stabbed. Repeatedly. Sounded like fun.

I leaned up on the tip of my toes (_I still didn't have any shoes on_) and pecked him softly on the lips. "Shut up and dance with me."

_End P.O.V_

* * *

"The hell is that?"

Gaara only glanced up for a second before making sure Temari had packed all the needed items. "That's a camel, stupid."

Xin's childish name-calling was rubbing off on him.

"A what?"

Gaara sighed and glanced up again. She was standing off to the side, eyeing the animal suspiciously. It was nearly two hours after their reception party had ended. They had made sure that their foreign guests were all checked in at a hotel before gearing up to leave for their honeymoon.

"It's a camel, Xin. It's...like a horse."

"That doesn't look like a horse."

"Because it's not. They adapted to traveling through the desert, unlike horses," He explained shortly, making sure that all of their belongings were strapped tightly. He shifted, easily climbing the desert-animal. "Come on," Gaara leaned down, offering her a hand.

Xin folded her arms, eyebrow quirked. "I don't get my own camel?"

"No. And you're saying it wrong. It's _camel_," He enunciated it slowly just so she could hear her mistake. Xin wasn't impressed. "We don't have time for this. Get up here or I'm leaving you."

Xin huffed loudly and took his hand, hissing when she was roughly yanked upwards. Gaara settled her in front of him. Somehow, some way, Xin fell asleep during their short travel. He knew that woman slept like the dead and she had proven him right. Not once did she stir, several times he had to lean over just to make sure she was breathing.

They arrived to the resort late into the evening. Xin was only half awake as Gaara slowly dropped from the camel's back. He only had a split second before she slid bonelessly after him to catch her. He felt her lips pull into a sluggish smile. Gaara almost threw her to the sandy ground.

"You're annoying," He grunted out, shifting her over his shoulder. "And you're not wearing shoes. Did you get married to me barefoot?" He asked, feeling her toes as she playfully kicked at him.

"I sure did," Xin replied around a yawn. "And this is not how you carry your bride over the threshold. You're supposed to carry me in your arms. You know, like a goddamn princess."

"You're far from a princess."

"Oh, bite me."

Gaara grumbled something but Xin didn't catch it as he made his way into the resort's hotel. He began speaking with someone at the front desk, a woman, before turning down a left hallway. Xin could see attendants darting outside to get their things and do something with that camel.

"Are we almost there? The blood is rushing to my head."

"You've got a big head, you'll be fine."

Xin huffed just as they made it to their rented room. He slid the door open and stepped into the room, gently settling her to her feet. She actually smiled sweetly at him before turning and plopping herself down on the bed. She reached up and began pulling the pins from her hair.

He watched quietly as her hair uncurled from the heavy bun, locks of midnight blue falling against pale shoulders. She pulled the flower crown from her hair, getting up to set it down on the vanity.

Xin peered at him over her shoulder, an innocent gleam to her eyes. "I..uh, need help getting out of this thing."

She had changed into a different dress for the reception. Her actual wedding dress was safely tucked away in a large box under their bed back at home. This dress she had on had a trail of buttons that started from her neck leading all the way down to her waistline.

Gaara crossed the room, bending slightly to slip the buttons undone. She openly stared at him through the mirror. "And no funny business," She added with a curl of her mouth, feeling his fingers scrape against her skin.

He let out an bemused grunt. Xin felt the tight bodice of the dress lessen and she took a long and deep breath. She shrugged it from her shoulders, shimmying out of it until she stood in a flimsy white shift. He deadpanned her, irritated that she would warn him of _'no funny business' _and then immediately strip to a bare minimum.

"Put some clothes on," He practically growled.

Her face twisted in sheer confusion. "I have clothes on," Xin replied. And he could see it in her eyes. Her confusion was legitimate. That piece of cloth barely covering everything she had to offer was clothes. He wasn't sure if she didn't see his annoyance because the majority of kunoichi dressed in scraps or because she just didn't think her body was attractive or appealing.

Was it the scars? Did she really think he was so shallow that he thought her scars were disgusting? Or maybe she honestly thought that her personality was so unappealing, it canceled out her attractiveness.

Xin was just a walking contradiction.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Xin suddenly broke his train of frustrated thoughts. She looked defensive and scared and he remembered their last conversation that left her looking lost.

He growled at her. "Because you're frustrating and oblivious," He accused her, nearly ripping his hair out when her face contorted from defensive and scared to just confusion.

"_Oblivious?" _She huffed the word. "I am not oblivious!" She insisted, hands folded across her chest. The motion enhanced her already bulging cleavage. Gaara almost groaned. "What am I oblivious to?" Xin asked, leaning forward in her stupid, barely there, shift.

Gaara almost—_almost _felt bad when he slammed her into the vanity, pinning her to it. He gripped the ivory vanity, trapping her body against his. She let out a small cry of surprise before placing her hands against his shoulders in act to stave him off to no avail. He pushed against her weak attempts, scowling deeply.

"No, no. _No. _You are not going to act like you don't know what you do to me," Gaara growled in her face. Xin stared back, wide eyed and cornered. She shifted, tongue darting out to skim across her upper lip. He followed the motion with an almost morbid fascination. She noticed the glassy-eyed expression and nearly shrank back away from him.

"I don't know what you mean," Xin muttered softly, eyes wandering over his shoulder to plan her escape. "I'm not acting, I honestly don't know what you mean."

His frustration was nearly spilling over. "Oh, you don't know? _You don't know_?" He nearly snarled.

"Gaara, what in the blue fuck are you talking about? No! No, I don't know, dammit. Now get off of me."

The redhead gave her a long look, his irritation with her growing by the second. One hand gripped her hip in a vice grip, nails digging past the thin material of her shift. He shifted his hips, grinding them almost brutally into hers.

Pleasure pooled into her stomach as her head fell back. A lone moan escaped her slightly smudged lips. "Ahh..._ahh—stoooooop_," Xin almost whined, trying another attempt of scrambling away. "Wait," Her face balled up. "_Noooo_, don't stop," She continued to whine. "Oh, dear God. What are you doing to me, I'm so confused," She almost wailed, shifting her own hips against his in order to create more of the pleasure wracking her body only moments ago.

He grabbed her face then, pushing hard until she had no choice but to sidle back on the vanity, back pressed tightly against the mirror. "What do you want?" He demanded in a gritty voice, feeling her quiver under his touch. "I'm losing my patience with you, Xin."

Xin's eyes flickered erratically, showing her internal battle with herself. She drew in a long breath between quivering lips. "I don't know," She admitted softly, face broken up in guilty pleasure. Her body stiffened and her hips stopped their movement, unable to create the pleasure she was looking for without his cooperating grinds. Xin's face twisted from pleasure into that of frustration. Sexual frustration.

She huffed through clenched teeth, angry eyes finding his. She reached out slowly, gouging for his reaction. He didn't move, hands sliding back to grip the edge of the vanity. "Remember," She uttered so softly, he barely heard it. Her arms slipped around his neck in a soft embrace. "I'm a bad woman to keep."

She leaned forward, kissing along his strong jaw. His hands, large and firm, gripped her hips and slid her forward, pressing their bodies against each other. He felt each and every rough scar against his flesh, even the ones hidden underneath her thin shift. Xin stiffened at the contact, feeling all her scars pressed against his flawless skin.

Her _ugly _scars.

Scars that she had once been so proud to bear. But now...she felt different about them. While preparing for the wedding, they had slathered her up in a ton of makeup to cover her scars. She hadn't never felt so ashamed until then. She never cared that they weren't pretty until she was forced to hide them away.

"Xin…." Gaara trailed off, feeling her body stiffen. She had paused against his jaw, lips rolling unsurely. "I like your scars…" He spoke lightly, as if they were sharing secrets. His thumb absently caressed caressed one of her many scars. She gave him a funny look. "Everytime I touch one of your scars, you freeze up like you're the ugliest thing in the world," He told her while she slowly backed away. The redhead could feel the muscles in her arm tense against his neck.

She pushed at him until he gave her enough room to slide off of the vanity. Whatever sexual activity they were about to dive into was completely ruined as Xin sank into herself. "I don't want to talk about it," She managed to slip around his big body. Gaara turned, watching as she hunched in on herself while hurrying to their bathroom.

"Xin…"

"No, goddammit! We are not talking about my shitty scars, alright? We're going to enjoy this honeymoon because Lord knows when we'll get another vacation. We're going to enjoy ourselves and not fight, even though I love our fights but they always seem to lead to sexual frustration," She was rambling now. "So! We're keeping our hands to ourselves, okay? I'll try to remember not to just strip like I'm in the room by myself and you remember to...um...keep it in your pants. Deal?"

Gaara shot her the dirtiest look ever. Her face cracked into a grin. "Okay, okay, that was a bit much and you're not entirely to blame for not being able to keep it in your pants—I do have a fabulous rack and that is totally besides the point. I'm sorry."

The young Kage crossed the room, hands on her shoulders. He wanted to cup her face but she had this skittish look in her eyes and he knew affections were out of the question right now.

"I'm going to make you realize that everyone deserves to be happy. Even you."

Her sheepish grin dropped while she stared unblinking at him. "Psychopaths don't deserve to be happy."

And then she was gone, hidden behind the snap of the bathroom door.

* * *

Gaara woke long before Xin, not that it shocked him. She didn't even move when he rolled out of the bed. And when he came back from showering, she was still swaddled in the thick blankets. But as she slept, it gave him peace and quiet. His thoughts were in a jumble but the one questioning thought that often stuck out to him these days was whether or not he was in love with the sociopath.

Love was still a very strange thing for him. Did he love Temari and Kankuro? Yes, they were his siblings. Did he love his village? Yes, otherwise he wouldn't be Suna's Kazekage. He also loved the fresh baked cookies down at the bakery right next to Xin's go-to cafe for lunch.

But. Did he love Xin?

He felt something for her, that's for sure. He wasn't as annoyed with her presence like when he first met her. He wasn't even opposed to their relationship like he first was. He was….happy with her around. Amused with her little quirks, satisfied when he managed to pull a grin or a laugh out of her. But did that mean that he loved her?

A soft yawn broke his thoughts and he looked towards the messy bed. Xin propped herself on her elbow, back to him as she gazed sleepily out of the large window at her bedside. She yawned again and the sleeve of her sleeping-yukata slipped down her arm, revealing a large crooked scar that started from the back of her neck and ended somewhere near her elbow. He studied the ruined flesh with a soft frown and decided that no, the one of many scars didn't bother him one bit. So why did they bother her so much?

Xin twisted, the blankets tangled around her lower body. She set her sleepy eyes on him, hand coming up to ruffle the mess of her hair. "Hi," She greeted, voice still thick with sleep. She yawned away, this time obnoxiously, and sat up fully. The little woman took her time getting out bed, seemingly basking in the sunlight drawn in through the windows. When she was sated, she ducked into the bathroom to ready for the day.

Xin stepped out of the bathroom, only slightly awake now, dressed in one of the resort's yukatas. Her hair fell down her back in dark waves. She picked at a lock of hair, glancing into the vanity's mirror for a split second before turning her eyes on him. "Hungry?"

And that's how they found themselves eating breakfast together at the inn's cute cafe. Xin picked at her breakfast, trying things that were normal to Suna natives but foreign to someone like her. Gaara watched in obvious amusement as her face either screwed up in distaste or her lips puckered in interest. Xin noticed a waiter bustling by with an odd looking meal on their serving tray. She frowned, tilting her head to the side. "Gaara, what are they eating?" She asked, pointing the tray out. Gaara paused in his meal, glancing over his shoulder at her pointing. He turned back, reaching for his green tea.

"Fried scorpion."

Xin blanched, all color draining from her features. Her skin resembled freshly fallen snow. Not that he's ever experienced freshly fallen snow. Her eyes went wide as she gaped at him. "Fried scorpion? Who the fuck eats that? I didn't even know it was possible to eat scorpions. Aren't they poisonous?"

"Frying them nullifies the poison. Their stingers are nutritious," Gaara answered as if they were talking about the weather. "It's a normal delicacy in Suna," He stated casually as her face contorted in disgust.

"You motherfuckers are hardcore," She commented in obvious amazement, still looking at the other table. "Oh my God, look, look, he's really eating it. He's eating fuckin' scorpions, Jesus Christ and all twelve."

Gaara let out a snort of laughter. "You know that cafe down the road from the Tower? The one you like so much, that you get our lunches from every day?" He asked, watching as her wide eyes slowly found his.

"God, no. Do not. Dooooon't."

"They serve fried scorpions. You can order it like you order your shrimp fried rice."

Xin spat her tongue out and shook her head, whipping her locks around her head. "For God's sake, fried scorpions. _Fried scorpions_, Gaara. You don't think that shit is weird, Gaara? That shit is weird."

Gaara leaned his cheek against his fist lazily. "Like Konoha doesn't have strange food?"

"Hell no!"

"You people eat fish like your life depends on it. What are you, part shark? You don't need to always have fish in the meals, you know that, right? That shit is weird. There's other things to eat, like pork. You know we like that, right? Pork."

"Pork has too much fat. I'm trying to save you guys, goddammit."

"Save us from what? You think all that oil you use to deep fry is healthy?"

"Really? You're going to critize my deep frying when you motherfuckers deep fried scorpions? And furthermore, we are not going to talk about my cooking when you've lived off of Temari's cooking all of these years. Your tastebuds are probably fried beyond all hell."

Gaara snorted at her crack at his sister's cooking. "That's not nice, Xin. Temari did the best she could. We can't all be natural cooks."

Xin waved his words off. "Whatever. Have you ever eaten fried scorpions?"

"You're really going to ask me that? That's like asking a Konoha native if they've ever seen that Hokage monument you've guys got."

"It's on the side of a cliff, who hasn't seen that?"

"Exactly."

Xin sat back in her chair, fingers fidgeting around her cup of tea. "That's so gross," she cringed. "And anyway, it's nine in the morning, who eats fried scorpions at nine in the morning?"

"This is coming from the same woman who drinks coffee at ten o'clock at night."

"Oh, _sce-reeewww_ you, Gaara. Screw you. I had work to do, dammit. Work that_ your _lazy ass nurses dumped on me because I married you," despite her biting words, he could see the amusement in her eyes and quirk of her lips. "It's not an addiction or obsession. It's a necessity."

"I told you I would come down there and speak to the nurses but you insisted that I stay the hell out of it. You women are weird and indecisive. You whine about problems and then throw a fit when men try to solve it for you."

"I don't want you to talk to them, Gaara. I want to punch them in their damn teeth but you said noooo. And this isn't about being indecisive, dammit!" Xin huffed loudly, sitting up straight. "This is about pride, goddammit. Those nurses—_not even medic-nins_—think they can just bully me because I'm some pale little midget from a foreign country that'll just run to you when shit gets tough. But they've got another goddamned thing coming, do you hear me? Oh-ho ho, _another motherfuckin' thing_ coming if they think I'll just bow down to their airheaded asses," Xin slammed her fist down on the table, rattling their breakfast.

"You sound like an insane person."

"Newsflash honey, I _am_ an insane person."

Gaara only nodded along to her words. "Of course you are, honey," He hummed offhandedly, wondering if Xin would be up for trying something new. He could just feel her eyes squinting into the side of his face.

"...Let's have some fried scorpions."

"Fuck no!"

"Waiter?"

"Gaara!"

* * *

_Xin's P.O.V_

"Xin…"

"God, don't fucking touch me."

Gaara tried hard to stifle his laughter but I heard it, clear as day. I glared at the side of his head viciously. I played with the idea of grabbing him by his stupid face and slamming it against the wall when he turned to look down at me. "It wasn't that bad."

"You shoved a fuckin' stinger into my mouth. While I was fuckin' talking."

"There's different ways to get you to shut the hell up but remember your rule while we're here? No displays of affection?"

"Oh, fuck off. Molesting my unwilling face is not an display of affection. It's a crime."

"Unwilling is not what I would call you last night..or any time we've shared before."

"We shared jack-shit, you hear me? And we definitely won't be sharing shit after you shoved a fuckin' scorpion in my mouth."

Gaara rolled his eyes and glanced around me. "That's real nice, Xin. Say that louder, I'm sure the other guests on the other side of the resort didn't hear you," He commented plainly, throwing his arm around my shoulders casually. I was two seconds away from chewing that shit off his fuckin' body when a gaggle of girls rounded the corner. They slowed at the sight of us, going wide-eyed. Obviously not because of me but because of my Kazekage/husband.

Ugh, fan girls.

My nose crinkled as they practically undressed him with their eyes. The fucking nerve, did they not see me standing right the fuck here? I may be short but I'm not nonexistent. I huffed at the disrespect and grabbed the hand that was dangling over my shoulder. That seemed to garner their attention. This discontent was evident in their faces as they studied me from head to toe.

"_That's his new wife." _

"_Really? She's as pale as a ghost!"_

"_Isn't she from the Fire Country?"_

"_What a shame…"_

"_I bet she tricked him."_

"Why, you airheaded floozies! I can hear you!" I snapped at them, watching in smug satisfaction when they shrank away. I heard Gaara grumble and sigh before he shook my hand free. He clamped his hand over my mouth and dragged me away, my feet scraping against the polished wood floor.

"For fuck's sake, was that even needed?" He asked when we rounded the corner. I slapped his hand away and frowned, balled up hand resting on my hip.

"I know you're not deaf, Gaara. They said I tricked you! Why in the blue fuck would I trick you? I was the one tricked, for shit's sake."

"Inside voices, you troll, inside voices!"

"Fuck you and your inside voices!"

Gaara nearly ran me over, succeeding in pinning me to the wall behind me. Oh, hell. What happened to the rule I established last night? No arguing because arguing led to sexual frustration and frustration of any kind was not wanted on a damn vacation. Gaara didn't say anything, leaning in too close. I was two seconds shy of actually eating his arm off when yet another gaggle of chattering girls walked by.

When their irritating voices vanished, Gaara leaned away. "You thought I was going to kiss you," His accused me with his smug stupid face. I gaped at the accusation, pushing off the wall and folded my arms across my chest.

"The fuck I did. I'll be damned before I kiss you again, especially with the smell of fried scorpions on your tongue."

"You ate it too."

"You shoved that shit into my mouth like it was a dick!"

Gaara opened his mouth, probably to say something that would make me blush harder than Hinata when I clamped my hand over his mouth. "Don't you do it," I squinted at him, teetering on the very tips of my toes. Christ, he was tall. A smug look glittered in his pretty eyes and I knew he was following the same thought. Did that make me a pervert? But then wasn't he also a pervert?

Ugh, whatever.

He pushed my hand away and I fell back to my normal height. "This place is just crawling with fan girls," I sniffed, folding my arms across my chest. "And if they keep talking about me loudly, I'm gonna eat their skinny little arms off and use them as toothpicks, you hear me? Toothpicks."

"I'm sure the villagers in Konoha can hear you, Xin. Honestly, weren't you taught how to use your inside voice? It's really not that hard," Gaara uttered blandly, slipping his arm around my shoulders once more. I allowed the motion, figuring we'd run into more horny fan girls.

"No, Gaara. I wasn't taught how to use an inside voice. Know what I was taught? I was taught how to break your fuckin' spine with my thumb and index finger."

"Why is everything that comes out of your mouth violent?"

"Clearly you like it."

"Something is obviously wrong with me."

"Glad you realize it."

He suddenly took a sharp turn, all but dragging me after him. I huffed my annoyance but he expertly ignored it. This pattern that we were falling into was very dangerous, I realized. Bickering lightheartedly with laughs in between? The fuck were we, best friends? I don't think so. Well, at least, I don't think so. I kind of hope not either. Because that could lead down to a dangerous road and it wasn't something I wanted.

_Yes it is, you stubborn mule. _

Oh, for shit's sake.

_You keep hoping that I'll go away and I keep disappointing you. The faster you admit that I'm you, the faster you'll be able to get over it. _

No, no, you freaky-deaky disembodied voice. We are not the same, alright? I don't have to get over shit because there's nothing to get over, you hear me? Now get the fuck out, you annoying piece of shit.

_How Gaara could fall for you is beyond me, you're vulgar. And if we aren't the same, stupid one, what am I? _

A pain in my ass.

_Ha. See, that's your problem. Instead of just admitting things, even in the safe but crazy confinement of your mind, you still won't let your guard down. Admitting that you may like Gaara more than you let on or that I even exist, even to just yourself, is like pulling teeth for you. Don't you think that's a problem? _

What're you, a psychiatrist?

_For the last damn time, I'm you, you demented gremlin. _

I wish the damn voice had a face so that I could punch it right now.

_You can't solve everything with violence, you heathen._

And you can't solve everything by name-calling, I internally huffed back before mentally shoving the voice away. That voice was just another reason why was I was totally off my rocker. I just had to figure out why it wouldn't go away. Maybe I should go visit a Shaman. I hear they can do a bunch of freaky stuff. Maybe they could cleanse me of this pain in the ass floating around in my head.

"Xin?"

"Whaaaaat?"

Gaara snorted. "Do you want to go the hot springs?" He asked with a blank expression. I frowned, puckering my lips up in distaste. Going to the hot springs would be fine, I mean, it was a hot springs resort and all. What wasn't fine was the disgusting fan girls just crawling around this place. Why the fuck were there so many of them? And why didn't Gaara seem bothered with them just roaming around, molesting him with their eyes?

Oh, dear God, was that jealousy? Was I actually jealous of the girls who were only seconds away from throwing themselves at my husband?

Oh, Jesus Christ, I'm married.

I'm an eighteen year old jōnin _(truthfully I'm an ANBU member but whatever_) and I'm married to the Kazekage. I'm not sure why the sudden thought just hit me but it did. And it was weird. It was so weird to look at Gaara and realize that he was my husband. I kind of felt bad that he was stuck with me and he may of, sort of, liked me. I knew I was no walk in the park and I felt bad that out of all the women who he could have been stuck with, it was my paranoid ass. Hell, I wouldn't want to be stuck with me.

Wait a minute, didn't he ask me a question?

"Uh…" I blinked like a child. Christ, he had pretty eyes. Pretty eyes that I could just get lost in if I didn't have any self-respect. Snapping out of it, I steeled my nerves and pushed my girly feelings to the very back of my mind. "There's too many people, Gaara. And if you think I won't smack a bitch in a wet towel if they make one more comment about how pale I am, hoo-boy, you are wrong."

Gaara let out a bark of laughter that had the corners of my mouth quirking into a smile. His laugh was becoming one of my favorite sounds and that wasn't good. But it sounded so nice and scratchy and fuck me sideways, I'm married to this man. "There's private hot springs."

I pinned him with a look that wasn't impressed. "You want to share a hot spring with me? Privately. With _me?_" I drawled out, feeling the weight of his arm against my shoulders. Funny, I kind of liked that weight.

"That's exactly what I'm saying, wife of mine."

Sounded even weirder when he acknowledged our marriage.

* * *

"I swear to God, if you try anything funny, I will cut you."

Gaara glanced at me in obvious boredom. "Cut me with what, Xin? Your words? They can cut deep," He commented blandly, throwing a look at me. I returned his stare with a blank look and slowly pulled up the sleeve of my yukata. Strapped to the undersides of my wrists were my bladed fans. "You know what?" He spoke after I dropped my sleeves and began working the belt of the yukata loose. I only glanced at him briefly. "I'm not surprised. I'm not even surprised."

Hm...maybe the kunai strapped to my thigh would surprise him?

"You have more, don't you?"

"I have more."

He let out a dry laugh that made me smile. I shook my head and turned my back to him. I slipped the yukata open but not off of my body. I meant it when I said no displays of affection. I was already struggling to figure out our relationship, dry humping each other was not helping. I wrapped the towel around my body so tight, I might have popped out it. When I was securely wrapped up in the towel, I took my yukata off and folded it neatly in the little yellow basket.

Ready to go wash off, I frowned at Gaara's yukata that wasn't nearly as neat as mine. Rolling my eyes and resisting the urge to slap him upside his big head, I unfolded the yukata and quickly refolded it. He knew I hated untidiness. I placed the neatly folded yukata in his basket and turned towards him to remind him of my pet peeve when my voice died just on the tip of my tongue. For Kaguya's sake, put the yukata back onnnnnn. Christ on a stick he was hot. Gorgeous. Everything right in this world. Every word you could possibly think of to describe an attractive man, he was.

And I was staring. Hard. Christ on a cracker, I wanted to lick his abs. I wanted to do a lot of explicit things to him. I wanted to kiss him. I wanted to fuck him.

Oh, Lord.

"Xin?"

"I'm fine!" I wheezed tensely. I grabbed his hand and tugged. "Come on, let's go wash off. I think I really need that hot spring right about now….."

When I finally sank into the therapeutic waters I let out this big sigh. For a minute, I forgot all of my troubles and it was nice. And then I felt Gaara's presence. Well that two seconds of normality was nice. "You're too close," I grumbled, eyes closed. "We're in a private hot spring, meaning no one's gonna wander in here. You don't have to be so close."

The water rippled, shifting me. "I know," He hummed somewhere from my left. I still didn't open my eyes. If I just ignored him and kept my eyes shut, I could pretend I was alone. Ohhhh, this was nice. But then I felt the very tip of his nail trailing along a curved scar on my shoulders.

"Gaara."

"Xin."

I puckered my lips and slowly opened my eyes. "What happened to the rule, Gaara? No touching. What're you doing right now? Touching my person. Why are you touching me right now? We had an agreement and you're not honoring the agreement," I practically whined, batting his hand away.

But his touches persisted, his nail dragging to the very center of my throat. "How do you survive?" Gaara asked under his breath. I suppose that with his absolute sand shield, being dealt blows horrible enough to scar was unheard of. But to me, the injuries I sustained to get these scars just meant that I was alive. I still bled. I could still feel pain.

"By the skin of my teeth," I answered lazily, slowly reaching up to grab his hand. I ran my fingers across the back of his hand, feeling the unblemished flesh. "Smooth. Like a baby's bottom….." I mused. Strange, usually it was the girl who was supposed to have the smooth skin. Just another reason as to why we weren't the normal couple. "How do _you _survive? All safe and uninjured all the time. How do you know you're alive?"

"Because I'm still breathing," He replied. I wasn't sure if he was being serious or sarcastic. "And I've been injured before. Did you not attend the Chunin exams?"

"Oh. Oh yeah, those were some good fights."

"Yes," He agreed grumpily. "You Konoha ninja…." He shook his head and I glanced at him, daring him to speak ill of my home. "Always refuse to go down without a fight. Why is that?"

My grumpy look broke into a grin. "That is what we call The Will of Fire. It is believed that every Shinobi of Konoha inherits an iron will from our forefathers to fight, even against all odds, we fight. It is our blood."

"So it's true when we say you all refuse to go down without a fight then, hm?"

"In a sense, yes, it's true."

Gaara laughed, leaning his head down to rest on my shoulder. It was quiet in the spring and I supposed this was the part where we just enjoy one another's presence. And before I would have been quick to deny enjoying such a moment but at this point...I felt at ease. I didn't have the urge to dunk Gaara's head underwater and hold him there until he stopped struggling. I didn't even have the urge to shove him off of my shoulder. I was oddly content and that made something in me quiver.

I blinked sluggishly and nearly slipped under the water, jostling Gaara. He jerked up, tired eyes now alert. I frowned, noticing just how tired he looked. I suppose being the Kazekage wasn't that easy of a job. I mean, back in Konoha, we were constantly reaming on Tsunade for her habit of falling asleep at work. Granted, she was usually in a sake-induced coma, but the lady-Hokage always seemed overworked when she was sober.

Smiling softly, I tapped his shoulder. "Come on, honey, let's go back and take a nap. I think you need one. Besides, we have all the time to take advantage of the hot springs. I think you should rest, as soon as we get back home, you won't have time for it."

My husband silently rose and I nearly bit my bottom lip off at the sight of the water running down his fantastically muscled chest and arms and oooh—getting off track, here. Bring those raging hormones back in and settle down, I mentally chided myself. God, I needed to get a grip. Gaara stuck his hand into my face and I wordlessly took it, allowing him to help me out of the hot spring.

The cold air hit my heated body and I shivered almost violently, feeling the strain of my nipples against the towel. I folded my arms across my chest, hoping it wasn't noticeable, and followed him out. If Gaara noticed, he didn't comment and we quietly changed back into our yukatas. He led us back to our rented room and I watched in wry amusement as he only took a small sip of the medicine I made for him and promptly fell asleep.

I rubbed the back of my neck and slowly approached the bed. Gaara didn't move, not even when I settled on the edge. With nothing but freakish caution, I leaned over and drew the tip of my nail against his cheek. He did not stir. I frowned, not knowing if it was the effects of my medication that put him in such a deep slumber or just sheer exhaustion. Shaking my head, I straightened up and braided my hair. Once it hung over my shoulder in a long, thick braid, I pulled back the comforter and slowly slipped into the bed beside him.

I ignored how right this felt and willed myself to take a nap.

I knew I was dreaming after two seconds of opening my eyes. Mostly because I appeared in a forest when I was sure I was staying in a hot springs resort in the middle of a oasis. And while oases did have a splatter of trees and a lake here and there, this was a full out forest. As if I was standing in Konoha's territory. "Oh, here we go," I muttered with a tight frown.

"Well, there you are!"

I stiffened, knowing that husky voice anywhere. Granted, I hadn't heard it in over two years but I knew that voice. A pinprick of fear began bubbling in the pit of my stomach until it became one big ass cloud of fear, anxiety and guilt. Refusing to turn around, I closed my eyes and tried to force myself to wake up.

"Oh, no you don't, kiddo," a thin but sinewy arm slid around my neck and tightened, pulling me against a lean body. "I've been waiting to have a talk with you for some time now and you're not going to run off like you do every time you have to deal with emotional stress."

Oh for the love of…..

The sinewy arm released me from the grip only to clamp their hand down on my shoulder. Before I could run off exactly as they said, I was spun around. A very tall woman stood before me with mocha-colored skin and vibrant pink eyes. Her hair was a thick mass of curls that swayed in the slight breeze. She was dressed in a pair of black pants with one pant-leg missing, a netted shirt under a black crop top with a dark magenta shirt over that, opened and with the ends twisted up to show off her muscled abdominals.

"Well," a smirk pulled at her lips. "Don't you look nice and tough after two years of throwing yourself into dangerous missions that were bound to get you killed," She hummed. Despite her good-natured smirk, I was not fooled. Her smirk suddenly cracked into an evil scowl. She reached for me suddenly, effectively locking me in a tight headlock.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, child? Have I taught you nothing about how precious life is? Why in the hell would you throw yourself into danger like that? I'm not there to bail your ass out, Xin! Look at these fuckin' scars, what is wrong with you!? God, you are the shittiest ninja I could ask for. You're supposed to do right by me, you moron, not try to join me!" my dead Sensei screeched into my hair.

Even in death, Hisakawa Lena had not changed a bit.

Somehow, I managed to fight my way out of her grip. Funny, for a dream, that grip felt horribly realistic. I rubbed my neck with a huff, eyeing the tall woman. I looked around for any signs of blonde pigtails or green eyes, just in case.

"At least you're still alive, I suppose," Lena muttered with a hand on her hip. "Come, we have much to discuss.." Lena slipped her arm around my waist to lead me to who knows where. I glanced around us, seeing nothing but trees around us. We came to a large and pretty lake. She wrestled me to sit on the bank of the lake. I had several nightmares and dreams since their deaths two years ago and this did not feel like one of those. This felt strangely realistic, like Lena was really sitting next to me.

"I've been watching you—"

"Creepy…."

"Shut the hell up before I shove my foot so far up your ass, it ends up behind your eyes."

"Got'cha….."

"As I was saying," Lena gave me the stink eye, she hated being interrupted. "I've been keeping an eye on you, now more than ever since you got engaged. Imagine my surprise when I heard you were set to marry. I thought, well, this is it! This is how you'll finally pull yourself out of that suicidal escapade that you were on."

"I was not on a suicidal escapade, Sensei," I muttered when she took a breath. Her sharp eyes narrowed at me and I pursed my lips. She leaned in close, thick hair brushing against my thin shoulder.

"Oh, you weren't?" Lena asked in that Motherly sort of way. I shrank away from her as she silently grilled me. "You weren't, hm?" She pressed, wanting an answer. God, wasn't Mikoto just down my throat? Now I had my dead teacher jumping down my throat.

"No, I was not. After you were gone, I was promoted to the ANBU, they're sent on dangerous missions. You know, S-ranked missions? What was I supposed to do? Not accept them?"

Lena sighed, long and hard. "Still the same, I see. Defensive as ever, always quick to turn things around when you're uncomfortable," Lena brushed her wayward curls away while I hunched my shoulders. I wanted to glare at her but I knew she'd punch me in the throat. "Suicidal or not, when you left for Suna, I was somewhat relieved that they wouldn't grant you the missions you were used to. I figured that this was the chance you could have at...normality. Well, as normal as you can get. I thought that after suffering from loneliness for two years, you could have some happiness."

"I do have it."

"You're more combative than I remember," Lena deadpanned. "And no, you don't. What part of '_I've been watching you' _don't you understand? Am I speaking the mainland's language to you? You've always been unhappy, Xin. Even when _we _were with you, you were unhappy. You may be able to flawlessly lie to those around you but you have never been able to lie to _me._"

"Yes, because you can sniff out a lie better than one of Kakashi's dogs….."

"_Xin._"

"Right , this is important. This is me, being important," I pointed to my face, grimacing into a serious expression. Lena was not amused with my antics and showed her distaste by slapping the back of my head.

"Honestly, grow up, will you?" Lena sneered at me. "By the Gods, this is my legacy...an eighteen year old woman-child who can't even admit the obvious to herself. Fate is cruel," Lena's eyes glittered while I offered a surly grin despite the ache resonating from the back of my head. She stared at me for a long moment, not saying a thing. "Goodness, you're an idiot…."

Despite the harsh words, I continued to grin. "That's not very nice, Sensei. That attitude won't get you anywhere, now will it?"

"Seeing as how I'm dead, I don't think it matters."

My blood suddenly ran cold at the reminder of her state of being. I rolled my lips and blinked, picking at the grass instead of replying. "Ah, so it festers. Even after two years, you still have not gotten over our deaths," Lena pointed out. She always had that habit of being horribly blunt. Huh….maybe that's where I got it from.

"Of course I haven't gotten over it. I killed you, Seiko and Haruka. That's some serious shit, Lena. It's not like I did some petty shit, I took your _life_."

Lena took a deep breath and drummed her fingers against her knee. "Guilt is a terrible thing to carry, moron. You can't keep carrying that all your life," She poked at my ribs. When I said nothing in return, she twisted her lips up at me. "I don't forgive you."

"W-what?"

Lena shrugged one shoulder leisurely. "You're constantly apologizing to us. I want you to know that I don't forgive you nor do I hold you to it. It's of the past, moron. What's done is done, apologizing or accepting the apology will not bring us back. You screwed up. We screwed up. End of story," Lena lazily explained. I gaped at her. I knew that Lena could be rather careless to sensitive things but this was literally life and death we were talking about. It wasn't something anyone could easily get over.

"Listen, you moron, I don't have much time left," Lena grabbed me and looked straight into my eyes. "All of this guilt, loneliness and despair that you're hoarding is not going to bring us back, Xin. We were only meant to be with you for those two years, you have to let us go. You have to let your past go. Stop using it and us as a crutch. We won't hate you for finding happiness. We want you to have it. You need it and so does the man you married."

Oh.._Gaara…._

"Are you listening, Xin? _Please_," Lena's hard face suddenly became oddly soft. It didn't fit her. It made me uncomfortable. I almost let loose an insult just to irk her nerve. "Your childhood sucked, Xin. Your teen years sucked. Don't become that bitter adult you're slowly morphing into. Love is weird and foreign to you but just let it happen. Stop trying to force your relationship into a certain direction. Stop avoiding how he feels towards you. Just _stop. _Live, you little ingrate," She insisted, looking almost sad. I only blinked at her as Lena climbed to her feet. She grabbed my hands and pulled me up. She glanced over her shoulder and smiled sadly. "It's time for me to go."

I almost clung to her when she said that. After having her back, she was leaving me already? Wasn't this my dream? Wasn't I the one in charge? I should decide if she goes or not, dammit. "Will you visit me again?"

Lena stared at me before shaking her head. "No, I will not," She answered firmly. "You needed some severe guidance and no one around you knows you well enough. Not the Sand Siblings, not your sisters and definitely not your parents. Though, you should give them credit for trying. You're a stubborn little shit to deal with. Anyway, you needed me right now and I came. You won't need me again. You're a grown woman, you don't need your Sensei still hovering over you," Lena smiled despite her words, hand on top of my head like I was thirteen again.

Well, that made sense. I guess. Didn't mean I wanted to accept it. "But...I _do _need you. I need you so badly," I grimaced into a sad frown.

Lena took a deep breath and her smile brightened. She let go of my hands and cupped my face. "You were a good little girl, just a little misguided, is all. Remember what I said, okay? Let Gaara in. Be happy. Fall in love. Please, please, this is what I want for you," She flexed her fingers against my cheeks and leaned down, planting one final kiss on my forehead. A light began shining from somewhere, I'm not sure where, but it engulfed Lena. Her hands slipped away and I automatically reached for her. The light, blindingly white now, burned at my flesh and I drew back to cradle my nearly sizzled arm away.

In the next second that it took me to blink, I was suddenly awake in the hotel room. I sat up and looked around. Did I fall asleep? I didn't feel as if I was just sleeping. I rubbed at my forehead in exasperation. I could still smell her spicy scent and feel her thick curls brushing my shoulders. There was a dull ache at the back of my head where she slapped me. I dug my fingers past the thickness of my hair, rubbing at my scalp in astonishment. "God, I'm finally losing my shit. For real this time, I'm actually losing it," I muttered and glanced to the side.

Gaara was still sleeping soundly. He didn't even twitch when I bolted right up. I suppose he was just that tired. I felt a little guilty, knowing my obnoxious ways were never helpful. They just made his life more difficult. _Let Gaara in. _Easier said than done, Lena. I frowned thoughtfully and leaned over to brush some of his hair away from his forehead. When he didn't move, I traced the kanji lines of his tattoo.

Love. Lovelovelove.

What a horrible and yet wonderful thing. People went their entire lives trying to find love. It was something that just could not be bought with money. You couldn't send a Shinobi on a mission to find it.

_Be happy. Fall in love. _

But how? How could I just go from hating him to loving him? How did they expect me to return his kisses when all I wanted to do was drown him? How could I fall for the man who snatched my freedom from me?

I looked at him again and was surprised when I didn't feel the usual anger and hatred towards him. Before, I probably would have seriously considered smothering him with a pillow. But at this point, I was just worried if he would get enough sleep. I sat back against the pillows with a soft huff and tugged at the end of my braid.

Wow, life was so horribly complicated. Maybe it was because I was so incompetent with romance and feelings and ran the other way when someone mentioned it. "Christ, I'm like a man afraid of commitment," I muttered to myself, pulling a little too hard at my braid. I rolled my head to the side, staring at Gaara once more. "Why aren't you like that?" I mused, more to myself. It's not like I was expecting an answer from the slumbering man. Shouldn't he be more cautious with the developments in our relationship? Why was he all for it?

Because he's not a stubborn little shit. And maybe he was more open to the idea of love. Somehow that involved me. How, on God's green Earth, did he manage that was beyond me. Not that Gaara was in love with me or anything but….it seems like that's where this is going.

And while it didn't totally revolt me, it did raise some questions. Like….why? Why me? I knew the obvious answer would be because he married me and spent a lot of time with me but didn't he also spend a lot of time with Matsuri before I came along? Why couldn't he have fallen for her? I know he said he'd ruined her but that was only because the topic of marriage had been brought up and she had been considered. If the idea of a false relationship hadn't been forced and I'd never come along, he could have fallen for her.

Maybe.

Although the thought of Gaara being in love with Matsuri made me want to punch them both in the goddamn face.

Odd…

Rubbing my eyes roughly, I sank down under the blanket. Asking all of these questions and getting frustrated over my own assumptions and answers would get me nowhere. I sighed heavily and decided that getting some sleep was my best option at the moment. But eventually I knew that I would have to talk to Gaara.

As I shifted into a more comfortable position, Gaara shifted onto his side. I only glanced over my shoulder before curling up. When his heavy arm fell over my waist, I didn't flinch away from it. His arm tightened over my waist and I wondered if he was still awake when he dragged me towards his back. I went without a struggle. Although I did let out this girly little squeak that I'll deny making if Gaara really is awake.

Gaara snuggled into my back, hot breath tickling the back of my neck. I giggled softly into the pillow but didn't push him away. With Gaara's added warmth at my back, it was much easier to lull me to sleep. I didn't even notice my heart beating out of my chest or the faint sizzled feeling from my arm.

Weird.

* * *

Shakilove: Nah, she's totally bipolar, no doubt about it. And horribly stubborn but mostly bipolar, lol. She just doesn't know how to handle feelings is all, which is where her confusion stems from. There will be more interacting though, physically and emotionally. Maybe mentally. Though I'm not sure if Gaara is ready for all the shit that goes through her mind.

BrokenSouloftheDarkness: FUCK YEAH, FUCK YOU MINORI. Lol, you're one of my favorite reviewers. It seems like XIn is almost there with her feelings, hm? She still needs a deep examination though. And finally, she meets with Mikoto!

AliceLovesCakes: Haaaa, I don't think anyone has ever said that Xin was creepy but I can totally see your point, she is creepy. It's kind of cute though, I think. Okay, maybe not cute but Xin is cute in her own way. Glad you like her!

UzumakiRaven: I think Xin can be considered an anti-heroine. I like their dynamics too but hopefully it's developing more now, especially with this chapter. They're still going to bicker buuuut….well, I'll just have to hurry with my updates to see where they're going, hm?

CinnamonTroll: You, little Troll, are a sweetheart. I was like 'really? My shitty writing is goals?' bless your heart. I know, I know, I'm dying to write that (; it's coming soon.

Wallflower134: I just didn't want their relationship to move too quickly, you know? I know it's been a slow build for them but it wouldn't be in Xin's characteristic to just fall for Gaara five chapters in, be kind of boring! But I'm glad you're loving it! They're like frenemies that make out from time to time, lol. A lot of people do interrupt them, I'm noticing.

Alyce DreamEater: Too bad no one around her believes in her paranoia, hehe. But we'll see very soon what Minori is up to. I like your pen-name by the way :)

Socrates-Symchych: Thank you! Hope you enjoyed the update

Akari: Yep, she is totally the blockhead and she knows it. Ume is….interesting, that's all I'm saying lol. I don't think anyone expects Xin to be that ruthless and paranoid. She has the face of an angel and she's a midget, then again, short people are evil, as I've been told but whatever. Minori better watch her next moves though, Xin isn't afraid to punch a child. No one would be safe from a pregnant Xin, she'd be ten times worse.

Lillian: Hope I did a wonderful job with this update as well! Thanks for the support!

PouringRain-BlazingStorm: I'm so glad you love Xin, it's a relief that she's well-received even with her unlikable traits and I'm glad her antics make you laugh, they make me laugh too. Hope you liked this update!

Annnnnnd they're married! Not the best way to spend the first night of their honeymoon but at least they're not trying to kill each other, right? They'll get it right, eventually. And I know that Suna and Konoha are relatively close but I like to think they have different cultures, such as fried scorpions being normal in Suna since it's a desert and eating fish is normal in Konoha since they have more bodies of water versus Suna. Their cultures are clashing, kind of.

I liked writing Lena-Sensei. Her and Xin had such a funny/abusive/lovable relationship before her death. Makes me wish I hadn't killed them off before letting them appear in the story but Xin probably wouldn't be the stubborn, crazy little shit we've come to love if they were all still alive.

Well, I hope you guys liked it and I hope you'll review. Favorite and follow if you haven't already, those are nice too. I love waking up to reviews, follows and favorites. They make me happy. See you next update.


	19. Ain't no rest for the wicked

I understood Gaara's frustrated attitude whenever I stripped out of my clothes. We were only two days in and I was ready to wring his neck for parading around our room sans a shirt. He pulled off his shirt for the umpteenth time and stepped into the bathroom. I dropped my head in my hands and groaned loudly. How was it fair that he was allowed to strip but it was such a problem if I did?

I glanced down at my chest. Maybe it was because I had breasts? That still didn't make it any less fair. Just like he was attracted to my breasts, I was attracted to his chest. I puffed my cheeks out and cupped my breasts, squeezing them together. "Always getting me into some kind of trouble with men," I muttered into my breasts. I continued to grumble into my breasts, missing the sound of the door opening. "Honestly, what the hell are you doing?"

I froze like I had been caught with my hand in the cookie jar. I started to laugh and slowly let go of my breasts. "Um...checking for any….lumps?" I lied horribly. Gaara stared at me, clearly not believing me. He said nothing else, crossing the room to sit next to me on the bed. I glanced at him and then down at my breasts again before huffing in frustration. "How come you're allowed to strip and I'm not?" I suddenly asked out of nowhere. I mean, to me, it wasn't out of nowhere.

"What."

"You heard me. You had a fit when I stripped the other night but that's all you seem to do is strip."

"Does it bother you?"

"I wouldn't be asking about it if it didn't."

A slow smirk played across Gaara's lips and I instantly squared my shoulders. "Don't give me that smug look," I waved my finger in his face. "I'm just saying, it's not fair," I pointed out, shifting and then stretching out on the bed. I ran my hand over my face. "If you can strip, I should be allowed to strip too. Why can you strip?" I sounded like some child whining about unfairness.

"Because you can control yourself better than I can."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

I stared at Gaara with a frown. "Oh," I blinked rapidly. "Because of the Shukaku, right? You mentioned before that he's attracted to my insanity. I kind of forgot about him, you know? He's been behaving," I said casually. The sand-beast really had been behaving lately. I hadn't seen or heard a peep out of the Shukaku since I slapped the living shit out of Sasori for speaking to Gaara about our very weird encounter.

"I wasn't talking about the Shukaku."

"Oh? Oh..._oh," _I puckered my lips at how slow I could be. Sometimes I managed to forget that Gaara was, indeed, attracted to me sexually. The many times he's attacked my face with kisses should be enough of a signal. I suddenly sat up, staring at him intently. If Gaara was bothered by my blatant staring, he didn't comment on it.

It wasn't until I yanked my shirt off in one smooth swoop that his eyes hardened as he regarded me. "Xin," He uttered sternly. I said nothing and continued to stare at him. "Put your shirt back on."

"You put yours back on," I shot back with some snark to my tone.

He didn't move and neither did I. Out of the two of us, I wasn't sure which one was more stubborn. It was actually quite funny. "I'm not joking with you, you harpy, put it back on," Gaara ordered, shoving at my arm. I scoffed at that. What were we? Five? Did he really think that shoving at my arm would cause me to just do what he wanted? I rolled my eyes.

"No," I answered simply.

"No?"

"Should I repeat myself?"

I was grinning widely but Gaara was glaring at me. "I hate you," He nearly snarled at me. I continued to grin, leaning over to tap his nose with the tip of my finger.

"And you're adorable," I cooed as he slapped my hand away. He pushed off from the bed and hurried away from me, snatching a shirt up as he went. I watched in amusement as he jerked it on and stomped out of our rented room. "Even more adorable when he's angry…." I mused after he was gone. Wondering where he went, I got up only seconds later to find out where he went. "Probably to get more fried scorpions…" I stuck my tongue out with a grimace before walking down towards the cafe. "Huh…" I paused again and looked down. "Maybe I should have put a shirt on," I muttered, pulling at the strap of my bra. Well, it was practically the same as my regular kunoichi outfit. Besides, it's a resort inn, who gets dressed at a resort inn?

"Where the hell is my husband?" I puckered my lips as I stepped into the cafe. I glanced around, ignoring the looks from the other guests and huffed when Gaara was nowhere in sight. I folded my arms across my chest and frowned, tapping my bare foot against the floor.

"Are you lost, ma'am?"

Did someone really just call me ma'am? I turned and peered into the face of none other than Mikawa Kyohei. Oh, fuck me sideways. I blinked up at him before raising my eyebrows. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me," I gaped at him. "Really, _really_? What are you even doing here?" I hissed at him, taking a step back. There just was no escaping this lunatic!

"I'm returning from a mission and decided to stay here for the time being," Kyohei answered blankly with arms folded across his chest. I only stared back at him, slightly offended. Did he think I was stupid? What, was I born yesterday or something? Did I have 'gullible moron' stamped across my forehead?

"You expect me to believe that? You just happened to show up here? Where I'm just happening to stay on my honeymoon with my husband, that you want to kill," I scoffed, tapping my foot against the shiny floors.

"Ah, so you and Kazekage-sama sealed the deal? Congratulations are in order, I suppose?"

"No, from you? No. Your siblings enjoyed the wedding though. I didn't even notice you weren't there, not that you would have gotten an invite though. Since you know, I fuckin' hate you and I'll eventually kill you."

Kyohei only smiled. I eyed him with a hand on my hip. "My sister says we should try to get along, for her sake, I'm willing to put our differences aside while we're here."

I continued to stare at him, frowning. The veins around my eyes bulged and Kyohei's body light up with his Chakra system. "I don't trust you at all and if you come anywhere near my husband, I'll string you up by your fuckin' balls and slit your fuckin' throat, understand?"

I expected him to growl something back but he only shrugged. "Wouldn't dream of ruining your honeymoon, my Lady," He commented with arms folded across his chest. "And you should smile more, isn't this a happy time in your life? Not even twenty and already married to the alleged loved of your life."

"I'll smile when you die. And _alleged_? The fuck is that supposed to mean?" I hissed, fingers twitching to rip his goddamn eyeballs out of his stupid head. Kyohei shrugged once more. I should break his fuckin' shoulders since he liked shrugging them so much. "You know what? I don't have time for this bullshit," I scowled. "Remember what I said, Mikawa. Slit throats and hung balls," I flipped him off and turned on my heel, stomping the other way.

I ended up finding Gaara in the men's hot spring. Needless to say, none of them were expecting me to just waltz in there. They scrambled and dunked into the water, giving me wide eyed stares as I located my husband and sauntered towards him. He regarded me blankly as I squatted down at the edge of the spring. "Honey?"

"What."

I pouted, elbows propped on my bent knees to cup my face. "Don't be mad at me," I whined with pouted lips. "Come on, I'm bored and this is our honeymoon. You're not supposed to be enjoying it with a bunch of other men—wow that sounded bad—but you get the idea! Come onnnnnn," I whined, not really bothered that I was surrounded by a bunch of naked men, my_ hothothot_ husband included.

Gaara glanced at me and looked annoyed, not happy to see me. "Where are your clothes?" He asked tonelessly. I only tilted my head to the side, eyebrow quirked. Really? That's what he was going to say to me? I rolled my eyes.

"Get out of the fuckin' water and spend some time with your wife."

The redhead sighed, long and hard. "Just…..leave, Xin. This is the men's hot spring and unless my eyes are deceiving me, you are not a man. Go before they kick us out. I'll meet you back at the room. And put some damn clothes on."

I rolled my eyes but stood up. "I doubt they'll kick the Kazekage out of their inn. That's probably, like, bad for business or some shit. No need for dirty looks, I'm just saying—alright, alright! I'm going!" I huffed before turning and leaving. Obviously I didn't listen and waited right outside the doors. When Gaara stepped through, he didn't look surprised at all. "Hi honey!" I sung, ignoring his expression. I wrapped my arms around his arm and grinned widely. "Don't be like that, I was lonely. You know I hate being lonely."

"You're a phenominal actress."

I rolled my eyes at him and shook my head. "Oi, did you know Mikawa Kyohei is staying here for the time being?" I asked, hoping Gaara wouldn't be angry if I murdered Kyohei in his bed tonight.

"No, I didn't know he was currently staying here and no, you may not kill him," Gaara answered in a blank tone. I rolled my eyes dramatically and opened my mouth to argue. "I don't want to hear it, Xin. It's a vacation, remember? We don't murder on vacations. Especially if he hasn't even done anything to deserve to be attacked."

"I wasn't going to attack him. I was going to kill him. Two totally different things."

"You're not funny and being a smartass isn't particularly attractive."

"So you find me attractive."

"I'm sure many men do."

"I don't care about the other men," my lips pulled into a surly grin. "You're the only one I care about. Didn't I tell you that?"

"I believe you did," Gaara nodded while opening our door. He ushered me in and closed the door behind him. He stood with his arms folded. "So, what would you like to do since you dragged me out of the hot springs to spend time with you."

I huffed, whirling around. "Don't make it sound like a death sentence," I waved his expression off and rifled through the vanity's drawers. Now that I had his attention, I really had no idea what to do with him. I didn't think he would actually follow me out of the hot springs. My fingers knocked against the deck of cards and I smiled, turning around. "Wanna play cards?" I asked. "We can play War…or Bullshit. Pitty-Pat?"

"I've only played War."

"Really? Well, I'll have to teach you the other games but for now, let's play War."

* * *

Gaara was winning and it was pissing her off. They weren't playing for money but Xin hated to lose. And if she did lose, that meant a week of no coffee for her. If he lost, no gizzard and tongue for a week. "You're cheating," Xin huffed as he scooped up the cards. Gaara only looked at her while setting the cards to the side. She was going to end up losing, at this rate.

"How can I cheat at a game of chance?" He asked while frowning. Xin huffed again while dealing a six.

Gaara placed down a four. "Ha!" She exclaimed, sticking a finger in his face. "In your face, dammit! Who's laughing now?!"

"I wasn't even laughing before."

"Shut the hell up."

Gaara grumbled at her rude behavior as she scooped the two cards up. They continued on with Xin cursing loudly every now and then and Gaara chuckling at her sore-loser behavior. "I win," He announced once their game was finally over. Xin stared back at him, realizing that she had to give up coffee for a week for losing. Why did she even agree to such a wager? Oh, that's right, because she was an arrogant little shit and thought she would just win.

"Oh fuck you," She sneered in obvious resentment. How was she suppose to survive working at the hospital if she couldn't drink coffee? How was she suppose to function? How was she going to get anything done?

Gaara snorted as he reached over to pick up her smaller deck. She watched sourly as he effortlessly shuffled the deck. "I'm not even surprised that you're a sore loser. I bet you're a sore winner too."

"Shut up, you don't know me," Xin mumbled, unfolding her legs from underneath her. She pouted, much like a child would, and folded her arms across her chest. Gaara continued to shuffle the cards, staring at her the entire time.

"I know you," He stated simply. She rolled her eyes, not believing him. "I think I've spent enough time with you, Xin. No need for the looks."

"I didn't you give you any look and you do not. You don't know me."

"You're just being childish since you lost."

A cross expression took over her face. All playfulness had seeped out of her eyes and her lips to form a stony look. "Did you know that I killed my own team?" She asked easily, watching as he stopped his shuffling. Xin had thought a lot about her team and the circumstances of their deaths. Lena had urged her to be happy and if Xin was going to be happy with Gaara, he had to know. It was one thing to kill in order to accomplish a mission. But it was a completely different story when you've killed your own teammates.

Gaara regarded her for a long time, quietly. He said nothing and in turn, she said nothing. They stared at one another, Xin waiting for judgement. "Ah," He only nodded and looked down, dealing their next round of cards. Xin's face drew in confusion. She wasn't sure what she expecting once she told him about her team but she knew damn well it wasn't a reaction of ease.

She leaned over and placed her hand on his, stopping him from dealing the cards. "That's it?" She pressed. "That's all you've got to say about that?"

"What would you like me to say?" He asked tonelessly. He shook her hand away and continued to deal for their next round. "You've killed a lot of people, Xin."

"But…" Xin slowly picked up her half of the deck. Gaara glanced at her and shuffled his half of the deck effortlessly.

"I figured you did," He paused with a thoughtful look. "Well, no. It was the Shukaku who figured that you killed them," He placed down a seven. "He said it would make a lot of sense if you did. Every time you spoke of them, you spoke with sadness and resentment in your tone," He glanced at her, waiting for her to deal her card. Xin didn't place her card down. "And he figured that a woman who loves to kill but has no team probably had something to do with their deaths. Are you going to place a card down?"

Xin looked at her deck, frowning softly. "It was an….accident," She mumbled just loud enough for him to hear. She finally drew from her hand, placing down a four. He picked up both of the cards. Xin didn't comment on the loss of her card. "I don't even remember the mission we were on but we confronted this man. I didn't think too much of him," She paused, rolling her tongue around her mouth.

"He said I had this look in my eye that reminded him of a wild dog. Pissed me off and I attacked him even though Lena told me to back off," She continued, looking at anything besides the man sitting across from her. "I'm bad at Genjutsu and he happened to be very talented at Genjutsu. He caught me in one and by the time I realized it, there was barely any remains. I tore them apart, there was _so _much blood. I was completely ruthless to the three women I loved very much," Her voice cracked and she took a steadying breath. Her eyes started to burn and she swallowed loudly.

"I tried. I tried to heal them but I just couldn't. I was so shell-shocked that I couldn't concentrate," Xin took another pause. She could still see it clearly and smell the bloodshed lingering in the air. She could hear Seiko gagging on her own blood. Lena and Haruka had already been dead. The sixteen year old couldn't do anything but gather her dying teammate in her arms and cry. She apologized profusely for her mistakes and sobbed into the redhead's hair.

Seiko had been trying to speak but there so much blood coming out. Her hands shook and she grabbed at Xin's arms. She convulsed erratically with tears gushing down her face. Xin hadn't let go. She held on long after Seiko's gagging had died down into nothing and the shaking had stopped. Even when the blood began crusting around her fingers, Xin had not let go. When she gathered herself, she gathered her dead team. She untied their headbands and kept them before burning their bodies. She collected the ashes and sealed them before taking them back to Konoha.

The only one aware of their cause of death was Tsunade. The older woman had told Xin that it was out of her control and she shouldn't blame herself. But Xin, stubborn as she was, knew it was a lie to try to ease the guilt gnawing at her insides. She begged for retribution. Why should she live when they were dead? They were all good women and she slaughtered them because of her arrogance. It wasn't right. She should be with them, she should be dead. "I joined the ANBU squad right after that. Tsunade said the longer I mourned, the harder it would be to get right back to normal. Not that I was ever _normal _but you get what I mean. She assigned me to Itachi's squad, probably so he could keep an eye on me. Huh, now that I think about it, Itachi was probably told about their deaths. That explains a lot…."

Xin blinked with a thoughtful look on her face. "That's it," She decided to say after a while. "Our relationship is….strange but it seems to be developing, well, I think it is. And I figured if it keeps developing like this then I should tell you. I killed them. I made a mistake because of my arrogance and brutally murdered them."

"Are you sorry about it?"

"Of course I am," She narrowed her eyes.

"And if you hadn't been under a Genjutsu, you wouldn't have done it?"

"Gaara, the fuck, no!"

The young Kazekage shrugged one shoulder. "Then there should be no reason that you beat yourself up over it after all this time. I'm sure your team understands, Xin. They loved you like you loved them and probably are aware of what happened. And the way you described your Sensei, I think she would be pissed if you kept mourning them like this."

Xin suddenly snorted but said nothing. _"Oh," _She wrinkled her nose is wry amusement. _"If only he knew about that tongue lashing she gave me some nights ago…." _She snorted again. She had come to the conclusion that whatever she had experienced was not just a dream but was reality. It had to be. Xin wasn't educated in the other-worldly things but she knew such existed. Perhaps she could study up on it when she returned home.

_Home. _

As in Suna?

With a smile, she decided that yes, Suna was home.

* * *

"Do we have to go baaaaack?"

Gaara eyed Xin as she whined and complained the entire time he spent settling the camel up with their things. "Yes, Xin, we do have to go back. Remember, I'm the Kazekage? That's not just a seasonal job."

"Did you just make a joke?"

"Shut up and get on the camel."

"Nooooo," She continued to whine, folding her arms across her chest and turning away from the desert-animal. Gaara rolled his eyes at her dramatics and continued to secure the bags without any of her help. Xin pouted like a child, not pleased that their honeymoon was so short. They could afford at least another day, couldn't they? Suna wouldn't go to complete shit if they stayed just a bit longer, she had tried to reason.

"Leaving already, my Lady?" Xin glanced up and Gaara paused to glance over his shoulder to see Kyohei. XIn's shoulders visibly slumped. "Kazekage-sama," Kyohei dipped into a bow. Gaara nodded his head and noticed Xin's gaze burning into the Suna Shinobi. "Your honeymoon is already over?"

Gaara nodded for the second time. "Unfortunately yes but my wife understands that neither of us can stray from Suna for too long. It seems that the Hospital has come to depend on her as much as the village depends on me."

"She is an exceptional medical-ninja. She shouldn't stray too far from her place."

Xin, who'd stopped listening, stiffened. "Excuse me? And what is that supposed to mean? Stray too far from my place? And where, pray tell, would that be?" She grilled the ninja, eyes narrowed and veins slowly starting to pulse against her skin. Gaara looked at her and then glared at Kyohei. A whiny Xin he could deal with. An irritable Xin? Gaara ran his hand down his face as Xin continued to glare holes into Kyohei's face with her freakish phantom eyes.

"Are you implying," She began in an icy-shrill voice that grated against their eardrums. "That because I'm a woman that my place is in the Hospital?" She took a step closer to Kyohei. "Because let me tell you, I will rip your fuckin' spine out of your goddamn back if that's what you're implying."

"_Xin," _Gaara almost groaned and intercepted the confrontation. He slid his arm around her waist and twisted her around, pushing her towards the camel. "Get on the camel," He ordered sternly. Xin only stared back, veins bulging around her eyes. She turned slowly, eyes grazing Kyohei over Gaara's shoulder, and climbed onto the camel. Gaara noted she she seemed to be struggling and placed his hand on her ass to shove her the rest of the way onto the camel. "Mikawa," He turned back to the shinobi. "It would be wise not to say such things to my wife or any woman, for that matter. I'm sure your sisters wouldn't appreciate that—"

"_Yeah you piece of shi_—"

"_Especially_," Gaara cut her off. "Since my wife has saved your life countless of times with her medical abilities," He reminded him with ice leaking off of his words. "It would do you well not to step out of line again," there was a certain glint in his eyes that disturbed Kyohei. Xin frowned softly, unable to see with Gaara's back to her. "_Do you understand?" _

Kyohei almost flinched but tried to steel his nerves. He'd been forewarned that the couple was equally ruthless. He just saw more of Xin's ruthlessness than the Kazekage. He'd have to be more careful with his actions and words. Both were loose cannons and it wouldn't be smart to heckle both of them. "I understand," Kyohei bowed, "My deepest apologies, my Lady. It was out of line to make such a comment, especially since I also have two sisters," He apologized, almost gritting his teeth. The mere thought of apologizing to this devil-woman had his stomach in twists but it was necessary.

Xin stared down at the man before glancing to Gaara. He was looking back at her and she felt the pressure of her Byakugan becoming dormant. It was an awful habit of hers when she got too angry. The Byakugan would practically activate itself in her anger. Haruka had always told her it was kind of creepy. She flicked her braid from her shoulder. "Whatever. Let's get going, the sun is baking me," She huffed with arms folded. Gaara climbed the camel with ease and settled behind her. She looked down at Kyohei and scowled. "Oh don't tell me—"

"I've been asked to oversee your safe return to Suna."

"_Ugggggggggghhhhh."_

Their return to Suna seemed to drag on. At least to Xin, it dragged. Perhaps because she spent the entire time watching Kyohei for any sudden movements. But once they finally did make it to Suna, they were greeted joyfully. Gaara had slipped down from the camel but Xin remained, whining about her sun-burnt shoulders. "I told you to wear suitable clothes but do you ever listen?" Gaara reprimanded her from down beside the camel. Xin only weakly waved his words away. She took note of Kyohei, who still walked on the other side of the camel.

"I just want to lay down," She mumbled but waved and smiled pleasantly to the villagers. Before long they arrived home and Xin grinned widely at the sight.

Gaara began to unsaddle the camel and Kyohei tilted his head up to Xin. She looked back at him with a frown but he simply offered his hand to her. "Let me help you down, my Lady."

She thought of slapping his hand away and cursing at him but thought better of it since resisting his help in public would be frowned upon. Rolling her eyes, she swung her leg over and reached down, settling her hands on his shoulders. She could easily crush his shoulders, she mused. _Ah, but Gaara wouldn't like that_. He placed his hands at her waist and helped her down. "Thank you," She hissed through a false smile, ripping her hands from his shoulders the minute her feet touched the ground.

Kyohei stared at her but Xin shrugged it off. "Ah, honey! Do you need help?" She hummed, rounding the camel. She came to a pause to see their luggage being lifted by Gaara's sand. She laughed and shook her head. "Guess not, huh?" She folded her arms and smiled, watching as he directed the sand to the front porch. "I'm going in," She waved and turned, completely ignoring Kyohei as she went. She vanished into the house with another word.

Kyohei rubbed the back of his neck. "Lovely wife, Kazekage-sama."

* * *

_Xin's P.O.V_

"Sensei!"

The next morning as I gathered all the work I missed at the front desk, Ukyo came darting towards me. She jumped at me, trapping me in a surprisingly strong hug. "I'm so glad you're back! How was your honeymoon?" She suddenly paused and her eyes got really wide. A dust of red streaked across her face and I tilted my head. "A-Are you a woman now?"

"Excuse me?"

Minori suddenly popped up and my smile dropped just a little. "Hatsune-chan told us that you're still a virgin," She began to explain without her stuttering or stammering. I quirked a brow at that. "And, well, honeymoons are meant for…."

"Don't be stupid. Neither of you should be worried about such things," I replied, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Odd, Minori, it seems your stuttering has cleared up exceptionally well. Took my sister a long time to get her stuttering under control…."

Minori flushed heavily and looked away. "U-Um well, y-yes, I've been doing better….."

"Ah, maybe I spoke too soon…"

"Senseeeei!" Ukyo whined, squeezing her arms around my waist. "Leave Minori-chan alone! Just when her stuttering was clearing up…."

"I was only making a statement," I shrugged and then shooed her off of me. "You were keeping up with the things I left for you, yes?"

"Of course."

I gathered all the work and began walking towards my office, Ukyo and Minori on my heels. "How's Asuna doing? I didn't really get a chance to talk to her during the wedding."

"She's becoming more…." Ukyo paused and tapped her chin. "Irritable and emotional. This morning she started to cry because she couldn't fit into her favorite dress."

I chuckled at that. "Ah, well that's normal. Try not to agitate her, it's a crucial time for her right now. And tell her not to overexert herself. I don't care if she's used to doing everything because she's the oldest, she should be resting."

Ukyo giggled and elbowed Minori. "See, she's not as scary as she seems. She's actually a big worry-wart," She giggled behind delicate hands. Minori only blinked at me, nervously twisting her fingers when I glanced at her.

"Only when I'm here," I shrugged a shoulder and opened the office door, sweeping them in. I'm not sure when Minori decided it was alright to hang around while I worked but I certainly didn't let her sit on her ass. I sent her on errands to pick up things, I had her file things and I allowed her to oversee my appointments when Ukyo was studying. I still don't trust the girl though.

"Ah, Ukyo? Have you been training with the Chakra scalpel?" I asked, completely forgetting about Ukyo's physical training.

She glanced up from her scroll and smiled widely. "I have. It's starting to become really easy, actually."

"Ahhhh, and the tonfa?"

"Kankuro-sensei says I'll master them very soon."

"Kankuro doesn't know shit about weapons, Ukyo. He fights with puppets, for shits sake."

"You know, Baki-san mentioned that we'd have to work on your language. Imagine when you have children, Sensei. You're going to curse so much, they'll think their first names are shit or fuck."

"That is just cruel, Ukyo. And when the hell did you start cursing like that, huh?" I reached over, pulling at her cheek. "That's not very ladylike now is it?"

"I'd imagine it's from your influence, Senseiiiii," She drawled as I continued to pull at her cheek. "And you're not very ladylike then since every other word out of your mouth is a creative curse."

"You think I'm creative?" I grinned. "And I'm not a lady. I'm a kunoichi."

"Then I suppose the same applies to me then? I'm not a lady, I'm a kunoichi," Ukyo reminded me while slapping my hand away. I continued to grin and sat back, slightly surprised that I felt so at ease at the moment. Even with…..Minori staring a fuckin' hole in the side of my head.

"...my Lady?"

My grin dropped and I turned to her. She clenched her jaw and pressed her lips together. I tried to smile softly at her but every time I looked at this girl, I wanted to punch her in the damn face. "Hmmm?"

"Why did you decide to become a kunoichi?"

Kay, that's weird. I mean, it's not like anyone has ever asked me why. It wasn't really like I was given the choice anyway. "I didn't decide it," I answered with a roll of my shoulder. Minori blinked and sat up. Ukyo quirked an eyebrow and looked in between us. I guess she wasn't expecting Midori to actually speak to me without being spoken to first. "I suppose that if I chose otherwise, my parents would have permitted it. Not like they really cared either way. Ah, well, I'm not sure. It's a strange time in my life right now when it comes to them…" I tapped my lips. My parents seemed so happy at the wedding. "My sisters are both kunoichi too. I think you met them at the wedding, Ukyo. Hinata and Hanabi?"

"I did. They're nice girls."

"They are. Too nice for this sort of world, I think. Sometimes I wish they weren't kunoichi, that they were normal girls. But you know, being the daughters of the head of the Clan, I suppose it's necessary to be ninja. I doubt a regular person would be taken seriously as the head of a ninja clan," I leaned my elbow against the tabletop and settled my cheek into my palm.

"Even though you're women?"

"I think a kunoichi would be better than just an average woman."

"So before you met Kazekage-sama, were you considered as the next in line?"

"Ah? Oh heavens no!" I laughed hard at that. "Could you imagine me in charge of a clan? Ha, my ancestors must be rolling in their graves just hearing that. Hinata is the oldest of the three of us so of course she's next in the line but Hanabi has always shown a lot of promise."

"And you haven't?"

I blew out a breath. "Hoo-boy, honesty hour it is. Uh, where do I start? Well, alrighty, it's like this. I'm a screwup. Mm, don't make those faces. It's rather simple. My family is prestigious and they're very proud. They have a very strong grip over their emotions and are very quiet. They aren't arrogant but they're very confident in their abilities. In the face of others, the Hyuga clan is calm, collected and confident."

It was kind of odd to talk about my family this way. Everyone just always knew that I was different from them. I never really had to explain it to anyone because it was just always factual. It was something we all knew but never talked about out loud. "And well, then there's me. Putting it nicely, I'm the black sheep of the family. And while I was more talented than my sister with our family's Juken and fighting style, I was unfit to be considered as the next leader. Headstrong, temperamental, arrogant, rebellious and rambunctious. Those are the nicest ways my Grandfather described me," I took a moment to think of that old Geezer. God I hated that old bastard.

"So you see, I was never considered to be the head. But it's never really bothered me," I shrugged my shoulders and tapped my nails against the desktop.

"Unn," Ukyo frowned. "I don't think that's right, Sensei. Just because you're a little different from your clan members doesn't mean you aren't fit to lead them. That's very judgmental of your clan. What if your sisters don't want to become the head, then what?"

"It doesn't matter," I replied evenly. "It is only between the three of us. It doesn't matter if none of us wants it. One of us _will _become leader, like it or not. It's unheard of to have anyone other than the current clan head's offspring to lead."

"That's very...narrow-minded of them."

"Ha, who're you telling? I left in a hurry after Gaara proposed. I love them very much but I knew I couldn't stand being there much longer. My Grandmother always did say I was a restless soul among them," I puckered my lips, I actually missed my Grandmother. But I suppose marrying Gaara was a blessing in disguise. "But you know, we get along better now. My parents and I. It was very...awkward between us for the last couple of years. I didn't even think they would show up to the wedding."

"You seemed rather happy when you were with them," Ukyo smiled sweetly. "I'm glad that despite your very strict family, you still managed to be happy."

"Ahh, yes. I'm glad too."

* * *

"What the hell is this?"

I was sorting through the mounds of wedding gifts I'd neglected when we returned. "Oh, is this tea?" I puckered my lips and opened the card attached to the jar of tea. "It's supposed to help with….conceiving? Oh my God," I slammed the jar back down and covered my eyes. "For fuck's sake, we just got married. Who gave this to us…" I read the rest of the card and scowled with a twitching eyebrow. Councilwoman Mai. "That old bitch," I grumbled. "Damn it Baki, we had a deal," I continued to grumble. That old bag of bones was going to pay for this, with her smart ass tricks. She was like an evil ass cat or something.

"Who had a deal?"

"Jesus Christ!" I screeched and spun around as Gaara came into the living room. "You're going to give me a fuckin' heart attack!"

"...For a sensor, it's very easy to sneak up on you."

I glared at him as he approached me. "Oh shut up. I was just distracted. What are you even doing home so early? Kankuro and Temari aren't even home."

"I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Please, God, don't let it be about this conceiving tea."

"What?"

"Oh? Oh. It's nothing!" I grinned sheepishly and pushed the jar of tea to the furthest corner of the coffee table. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Did you see Kimi at all?"

My shoulders tensed and I avoided eye contact. "I only dropped by to see if she wanted to say anything else. Baki was saying Satoru was being difficult even after I cut his fingers off so I wanted to see if she would spit out more information on Mashiro in exchange of me not cutting his arm off next," I explained as I picked up a pretty decorative vase up. It was clear glass with fancy squiggly lines etched into the glass.

"I didn't tell you to do that."

I scoffed and placed the nice vase down. Why the hell did we even need a vase anyway? I don't even like flowers to begin with. "Since when do I need your permission?"

Gaara glared holes into my head. "That's a stupid question," He pointed out with arms folded across his broad chest. "You weren't permitted to go down there."

"I was just trying to get more information," I huffed with a pout. "Don't you think it's a bit suspicious that Mashiro hasn't sent anyone after us since Kimi and Satoru?"

"How could she possibly know anything else if she's been withheld all this time?"

"I don't know," I said crossly. "I was trying to find out."

"Xin, I'm not saying you're wrong for wanting to know more about Mashiro. I'm only saying you can't do things without getting permission first. That's not how this works and you know it. There are rules and regulations to be followed and you are not excluded from that."

"But—"

"No, I don't want to hear it. You are a Suna kunoichi. You will listen to me when I tell you to do something. I don't care how you feel about it. If I say you will not interrogate Kimi or Satoru any further than you already have, then you will not. If I tell you that you are strictly desk-duty, then you are strictly desk-duty. Do you understand?"

I understand that I'm thoroughly turned on right about now, I understand that quite well. But putting my perverted thoughts aside, I scowled even harder. Damn him and his stupid Kazekage role. He was right. As a Suna kunoichi, I had to listen to his orders. And if he ordered me to stay away from Kimi, then I had to stay away from her. Huffing, I folded my arms across my chest. "_Fiiiiine _but the minute she does some weird shit, I'll be up in her damn ass, you hear me?"

Gaara rolled his eyes and then glanced down at the table. "Right. In her ass," He nodded his head wryly. "What's this? Tea leaves?" Gaara reached for the jar at the corner of the table and my eyes widened. "...This helps with conceiving?"

Oh, fuck you Mai.

* * *

"Wow, you really do stay late."

I glanced up, catching Jura's eye before looking back down. "Well, I haven't been here since the wedding. Some work has piled up since then," I pointed out with a shrug. He smiled at me and leaned against my desk. I looked up at him again and quirked one eyebrow. "What?"

He only continued to smile. "Nothing. You're just my best friend is all. I'm glad you're back."

I snorted. "Ew, don't be like that," I waved his words away but Jura grinned further. He reached over and ruffled my hair. I whined and swatted his hand away. "Oi, Jura? Can I ask you something?"

"Mmn?"

"Why do you like me?" I asked with a serious face. Jura's face pulled into confusion before his eyes got very wide. A dusting of blush streaked across his cheeks and he steadily avoided my gaze. I chuckled softly and patted his hand. "Don't worry, it's just an innocent question," I pointed out. The question was supposed to be platonic. Jura didn't actually have feelings for me, did he? Too late to take back the question now, I suppose.

He laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, when we first met, I just thought you were very pretty. Like a little doll, very pretty. And you know, the council made you out to be this sweetheart. You know, a kindhearted medic from an esteemed clan," Jura began to explain along with wild motions of his hands. I nodded my head, still irked that they made this image up of me. "And then you opened that hole in your face you call a mouth."

I almost fell out of my chair. What in the fuck was that supposed to mean?

"And you never shut it. Ever. I thought Gaara-sama was crazy to marry you. You're mean as all hell. And mouthy and stubborn and you're the rudest woman I have ever met in my life," Jura explained further. I almost gaped at him but realized he was right. Maybe that's what pissed me off. "But…" He trailed off, drumming his fingers against the desk. "I'm not sure how Gaara-sama feels, I mean, he must look past all of that since he married you but..I think the best thing about you is that you're unapologetic about yourself," His gaze strayed from mine. I blinked at him. Well, that was new. "And that's why I like you," Jura grinned. I felt myself flush and wondered if he just meant as a friend or a crush. Not that it really mattered but I suppose next time I'd have to be more specific.

"Ahhh, that's the nicest thing anyone has ever said about my horribly personality," I grinned back at him and played with my pen. Jura blinked and his grin suddenly dropped.

"Doesn't Gaara-sama tell you nice things?"

Ah. Well shit.

"He does," I lied evenly. Ha, when was the last time Gaara told me anything nice about me? Not that I blamed him. I was evil as shit towards him. "But I usually tease him about it and he gets embarrassed. And besides, we're married. I know why he likes me. Although sometimes I think he must be a masochist for wanting to be with me," I tapped my finger against my cheek and smiled.

"You guys are per—" Jura paused mid-sentence and I turned to follow his gaze. He was staring out the window so I had to get up to see what suddenly had his attention.

"Oh? Is that Genji? Where in the world is he going so late at night?" I frowned as Jura moved around the desk to join me at the window. He was frowning now and I blinked.

"He's been going off late in the night a lot. Asuna was worrying about it for the past week. I think they were arguing about it last night…" Jura trailed off, eyes watching his brother-in-law like a hawk.

"I have specific orders for Asuna not to stress," I grimaced, snapping the window open.

"What're you doing?" Jura asked I clambered up on the sill. He grabbed at my shirt.

"What's it look like? I'm going to see where he's going. Whatever he's doing is worrying Asuna and I'm not taking that. If he's doing some weird shit, I'll find out and beat his ass. Then I'll drag his ass home and let Asuna kick the shit out of him."

"Oh my God, you actually care."

"Fuck off, Mikawa. You coming not not?" I didn't give him a chance to answer, opting to jump out of the window. I landed in a crouch and Jura landed a second later. We stood up and glanced at each other before silently nodding. We blended easily into the shadows and hid our Chakra, just in case. We followed him for almost ten minutes before he stopped short at a deserted park. Jura and and I both frowned, leaning around the corner to watch. Nothing happened for a solid five minutes. And then Kyohei appeared.

"Aw, hell."

"Is that Kyo?" Jura almost jumped around the corner to see if it really was his brother. I cursed and caught him around his torso and yanked him back. "The hell is wrong with you Xin? It's just my brother."

"Jura," I flexed the muscle in my arm as he pushed against me. "Wait," I ordered and pinned him to the wall. He scowled harshly at me but I shook my head and peered around the corner once more. Jura growled but obeyed my order and leaned against my smaller form to peek around the corner. We were too far away to hear anything but their suspicious movements was enough to set off my paranoia. I squinted, Byakugan coming to life when Genji pulled something out of the satchel wrapped around his body. A container with something slithering around in it.

"Oh this is not good."

"What? What's not good? Do you know something I don't know?" Jura hissed into my hair. I shoved him back as Genji began backing away from Kyohei. "Xin!"

"Oh for the love of..._shut up_, Jura! For Christ's sake, you're going to blow our cover!"

He glared at me and we sank back into the shadows as Genji hurried by us. I only stared after the civilian, scowling harshly. I had to speak with Baki about this. And Gaara. Deal and paranoia be damned. I knew some shit was going down with Kyohei and Genji. It was just all too easy. And Minori. I still wasn't sure where that girl tied into but I knew it was somewhere in this wacky scheme. Her showing up all of a sudden was just too convenient for my tastes. I thought back to Gaara's insistence that I stay out of all this and just work at the Hospital until the Council trusted me but I knew all of that was down the drain now.

Damn it all to Hell.

_End P.O.V_

* * *

"Ready?"

Ukyo said nothing as she stood across from Xin. The older woman was dressed in a red cropped top with black shorts, armed with her naginata. She smiled widely, feet slipping into a readied stance. Ukyo tightened the hold she had on her twin tonfa. Xin had insisted that they spar with their newly acquired weapons just to see how far Ukyo had come with it. "No holding back, Sensei?"

"I'm not."

Ukyo almost gulped. Xin was quite fierce in unarmed hand to hand combat. She was a force when it came to offensive medical ninjutsu. And now she was going to come at Ukyo with a bladed staff. Ukyo frowned, perhaps she should have listened to Kankuro when he—

Ukyo almost shrieked when Xin suddenly came at her. She scrambled, flexing the tonfa and caught the blade of Xin's staff on her tonfa. The metal clashed together, sparks flying. Xin's knee jerked up, slamming into Ukyo's stomach. The young Chunin gasped and Xin swung her hand, slamming it into her side and throwing her some feet away. Xin twisted her grip and jumped, bringing the naginata down. Ukyo's eyes widened and she rolled to the side, watching as the blade sunk into the ground where her head had been only moments ago.

She hopped to her feet and rammed the blunt ends of the tonfa into Xin's side. The attack caught her by surprise and it was evident in her eyes as she stumbled away. Her skin began turning red and she scowled before regaining her footing. She switched her grip once more and swung the naginata like it was a club. Ukyo ducked out of the way and sprang back up, her left tonfa jutting up and catching Xin's stomach. The blade sliced her skin open and caused blood to gush out.

Horribly surprised but feeling somewhat satisfied that she actually landed a hit, Ukyo stumbled to a pause. A slow grin light up her face as Xin reached for her bleeding wound. The older woman frowned, eyes flickering to the momentarily stunned Ukyo. Xin slid her foot, kicking up sand into Ukyo's face. Tears gathered as her eyes began to burn. "Ugh! _Sensei!" _Ukyo shouted as she rubbed at her eyes. Xin snorted and took her chance, swinging the naginata horizontally.

Ukyo's stomach began to burn worse than her eyes as her own flesh opened up from the tip of the bladed staff. Xin jerked her elbow, slamming it into Ukyo's face. The medic in training grunted when she hit the ground but instantly rolled to her feet once more. Xin's lips puckered in surprise as Ukyo pressed a hand to her bleeding wound. There was a certain fire burning in Ukyo's eyes once they cleared of sand. Xin only watched as Ukyo darted towards her, tonfa readied and bleeding wound ignored. She dodged backwards as Ukyo forced her on the defensive. She ducked, hopped and jerked out of the way of the double blades coming at her.

"Wow," Hideki paused in his own training with his older brother. Kankuro had been busy with something and because of that, Hideki and Ukyo had both decided to train with Jura and Xin for the day. "Ukyo has gotten a lot better since…"

He trailed off, a sad smile gracing his usually bright face. "Since Usui died?" Jura finished Hideki's thoughts. "She has," He nodded in agreement. "She has Xin on the defense, that's impressive since Xin is such a powerhouse," He noted while watching Xin duck out of the way of another swipe aimed at her face.

"She's been more determined to be…" Hideki stopped. "To be strong, I think. Like Xin and Temari-san."

"Temari-san would make a good role model. She's talented, peaceful but firm. Xin on the other hand…" Jura laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, Xin's bold and ballsy attitude sure is rubbing off on Ukyo. I'm not sure anyone can handle sparring with Xin. Well Kazekage-sama can obviously take her."

Hideki chuckled and nodded. "Oi, Jura. Susu has been arguing a lot with Genji…"

"Ah, so you did hear them."

"I was just trying to go to the bathroom when I heard them. Susa sounded really upset too. Ukyo said Xin doesn't want her to stress too much, it could mess with her pregnancy or something," Hideki explained with a look of worry crossed his young face. Jura glanced at his little brother but focused back of the spar. Xin had countered, knocking Ukyo's tonfa to the side. Ukyo managed to dodge out of the way of Xin's swing.

"Ukyo and Xin are right."

Hideki nodded, his dark hair ruffling in the slight wind. "I heard Asuna ask if Genji is cheating on her. He said she was just being paranoid but he wouldn't tell her where he goes at night. Jura, if Genji really is cheating on Susu, I'll kill him."

Jura blinked his brown eyes, wondering where Hideki would get the idea to actually kill their brother in law. "Hideki, I know you don't want Susu to suffer but we can't kill her husband if he's being unfaithful."

"Why not? Xin threatens to kill people all the time."

"But has she?"

"Well, I don't know but sometimes she does smell of flowers and stale blood. And I figure that it's not her bleeding but someone else's blood. Besides, Shinobi are trained to kill, aren't they? What's the point if I can't protect my sister?"

Jura shook his head. "Because you don't even know if Genji is cheating. And if he is, killing him is not the answer. He'll suffer from repercussions but not death."

Hideki grumbled and shook his head. Asuna was a wonderful woman and didn't deserve to be cheated on. She was too good for Genji, Hideki knew. He'd been angry when he took Asuna away to live in Kiri. And when she told them she was moving back to Suna, he figured that she meant _without _Genji. But no. Genji was here, making his sister suffer. If he wasn't out cheating, what the hell was he doing every other night? Hideki glanced at Jura and frowned. Perhaps if he told Xin that he was ready to kill Genji in retaliation, she would have agreed. Jura was too soft. Xin always had this certain hard look in her eyes that Jura did not have.

"Do you understand?" Jura nudged Hideki's arm to get him back into focus. When Hideki grumbled his agreement, he nodded. "Good now come spar with me. Ukyo is making you look bad."

Hideki let out a laugh but hurried after his brother. The spar between Ukyo and Xin was slowing down. Xin rolled under Ukyo's wide swing and twisted back onto her feet. She slammed the pommel of her naginata into Ukyo's back. She let out a squeak and dropped to the ground, rolling onto her back. Xin pointed the tip of the blade at Ukyo's neck. Sweat dotted her brow and she had an array of bruises littering her skin plus the gaping wound in her stomach . "Yield."

Ukyo gritted her teeth, one hand clutching at her own wound. "I...yield," She surrendered, knowing this spar was over. Xin stared down at her with a blank expression before grinning widely. She pulled her weapon away, holding it in a non-threatening way.

She stuck her hand out. "You did really well, Ukyo. I'm impressed," She gushed as Ukyo slowly took her head. Xin heaved the little girl up without a strain and settled her onto her feet. "I mean, you got me good."

"I still lost," Ukyo grumbled begrudgingly. Xin's grin faltered into a shimmer of a smile. She tilted her head to the side and then placed her hand on Ukyo's head.

"This spar was not about winning or losing. This spar was to show me if you're really taking these tonfa seriously. And from what I saw, you're well on your way to mastering them just like Kankuro said. Now come and heal my wound before it gets infected. Yours too. Heal yours first."

Xin turned and joined Jura as Hideki, holding her bleeding wound. "Shouldn't you just heal that yourself? You're bleeding all over the place," Jura noted as the blood continued to gush past Xin's pale fingers. He couldn't tell if she was pale from her blood loss or if that was her normal complexion.

Xin only gave her wound a fleeting glance. "Nah, I'll be fine. It's not even that deep," She shrugged, not even a bit concerned with all the blood. Hideki eyed the wound, going a bit pale in the face as the blood steadily leaked down her stomach.

"Hideki," Ukyo called as she finished healing her wound. "Are you alright? You look pale," She pointed out while approaching Xin. She waved Xin's hand away and studied the wound. She frowned, realizing it was actually pretty deep. Xin's unconcerned attitude to her own welfare was going to be the death of her one day. Hideki flushed, bringing color back to his face. He was slightly embarrassed that neither girl seemed bothered by all the blood. Telling himself to man up, he shook his head.

"I'm fine, Ukyo. How about you though? Jura says you have to be pretty bold to spar with Xin-san," He pointed out, missing the twitch in Xin's eyebrow.

"The fuck is that supposed to mean, Mikawa?" She leaned to the side to take a swipe at Jura.

He ducked out of the way and gripped her just under her chest. "Oi, hold still! Ukyo can't heal you if you're attacking me," He whined as Xin struggled. Realizing his words to be true, she stopped struggling but did send a dirty look over her shoulder at him.

Ukyo laughed at their childish behavior. "I'm fine, Hideki. Well, actually, I'll probably be sore. Sensei likes to throw and bat people around," Ukyo huffed as she cleaned the blood as best as she could.

"Force of habit, I usually throw them hard enough for something to break," Xin shrugged one shoulder leisurely. "But I think you hit me with those things as much as I threw you. My side is killing me."

Ukyo frowned as her hand light up. Xin's tensed shoulders relaxed the minute she felt the wound sealing itself under Ukyo's guidance. "Take an ice bath when you get home," She hummed thoughtlessly.

Xin's lips puckered and she nodded. "Good, good. Good advice, kid," She praised Ukyo's memory. "Although I hate ice baths," her lips pulled into a grim line. "You too, ice bath when you get home. Come on, I'll walk you while these two train," Xin let out a sigh of relief when the wound was healed before it could scar. "Thanks, kid."

Ukyo smiled brightly under Xin's gaze. She turned to Hideki. "I'll be cooking dinner tonight with Susu so you better not be late! That goes for you too, Jura. I'll tell Xin-Sensei if you miss it."

Both paled as Xin's grinning gaze turned on them. Her grin was almost sinister as her eyes light up in warning. "I'd do as the kid says. I have to nearly drag Gaara home for dinner, don't make me hunt you two down as well."

Hideki vigorously nodded his head, suddenly so very terrified of the small pale woman standing in front of him. Jura laughed nervously but nodded his head, already knowing just how fierce Xin could be. "Ah, before you go," He suddenly caught Xin's wrist as she turned away. She frowned softly and tilted her head. "About what we saw the other night...does Kazekage-sama know of it yet?"

He wasn't even sure _what _they saw but he had a sickening feeling that it wasn't _right_. And from Xin's reaction and the way her eyes had hardened, he knew she knew something was going on. She didn't even seemed surprised. "I haven't," Xin answered stoically. Her face was a blank slate and Jura struggled to find something in her eyes. To his dismay, he found nothing. "_Yet."_

"Xin," Jura tightened his grip on her wrist. "Before you do anything, please, _please _let me talk to him," he pleaded with her, pulling slightly on her wrist. Asking her to withhold information from the Kazekage, _her husband_, was a lot. If it was discovered that the two of them were hiding vital information, there would be severe consequences.

They could be labeled as traitors.

And while he could possibly get off with an easy punishment, Xin could possibly be excommunicated or even executed. She was, after all, foreign. They could seriously hold that against her. She didn't have to wait for anything. "Okay," She agreed with no trace of emotion. "But I'll tell you this," she suddenly stepped closer, way too close. It made him uncomfortable as her scent flooded his nose. It was too intimate. "Your brother is dangerous, Jura. If anything goes wrong and Gaara orders it, I will take him down."

She stepped away.

_And if you get in my way, I'll take you down too._

* * *

Xin's lips were almost blue by the time she pulled herself out of the ice bath. She gasped, brushing her sodden hair back as she scrambled up.

"Did I actually fall asleep in an ice bath?" She wondered out loud as trembling hands grasped at the edge of the tub. "Maybe Sensei was right. Maybe I'm on a suicidal crusade," the blunette mumbled as she dragged herself out. Her teeth chattered as she eyed herself in the mirror. Ukyo had really done on a number on her. She rubbed her side, nursing the largest bruise. Xin stared at the bruise, slightly surprised that Ukyo had dealt such a blow. "That kid is going to be dangerous," She mused, running the tips of her fingers over the bruise. "Good thing she has a soft heart…."

The young woman sighed and finally began to dry off. She pulled on a pair of shorts and a fishnet-armored sports bra. She sat on the toilet and vigorously dried her hair until it was dry enough to tie up without having water drip down her back.

It was late and she was sure Temari and Kankuro were already asleep. She wasn't sure about Gaara but she assumed he was working. He hadn't made it to dinner and she found herself too tired and bruised to fight with him and drag him home. Xin slowly pushed herself up and left the bathroom. She wandered aimlessly down the hall, nearly passing her room due to the thoughts swarming her head. Muttering to herself, she leaned heavily against the door and opened it.

"What the hell happened to you?"

If she had the energy, she would jumped out of her skin. But she was tired and a little weary and only managed to inhale sharply. She gripped the doorknob and eyed her husband. "Sparring, I'm fine," She mumbled while finally stepping into the room. She closed the door behind her and watched as he made his way towards the bed. She followed suit, sitting down next to him. "Can I ask you something?"

He shrugged, his shoulder bumping into hers. "Do you remember when you told me I could change and I said that I could try?"

"I do."

Xin frowned, running shaky hands down her thighs. "I...I don't think I can, Gaara," She finally admitted what had been weighing down on her ever since she returned that afternoon. "I was sparring with Ukyo, just to see how she's been doing with her tonfa. She managed to get in a really good hit, tore me right open," Xin paused and pointed to her stomach. It was generally smooth of any new scars but she could still feel her skin splitting open.

"I got so fuckin' angry that this little thirteen year old actually got in a good hit. I retaliated and ripped her open but...I _enjoyed _it. Gaara, I enjoyed ripping her open. I wanted to kill her the moment her blood started to flowing. I wanted to fuckin' decapitate her," her hands were shaking even more but Gaara said nothing.

"When I realized that my bloodlust was stirring I resorted to just batting her away. I had to keep telling myself to just bat her away. If she landed another hit like that, I was going to kill her. I could _feel _it," Xin blinked hard and fisted her hands in the material of her shorts. They wouldn't stop shaking. "I love Ukyo. So much. She's a wonderful girl and _I wanted to kill her. _I was going to kill her and that's when I realized: something is really wrong with me."

It was quiet between the two for a long time. Xin figured he probably had no words for her, not that she expected him to. She really was a horrible person. With burning eyes, she leaned her head against his shoulder.

"What kept you from killing her?"

"I'unno."

"Perhaps it was that shred of decency you keep denying that you have?"

Xin closed her eyes, brows knitted together. "I'm sure it may be hidden somewhere deep beneath my insanity and guilt. It's probably calling for help."

Gaara shrugged, jostling her head. "I'll help you."

She chuckled slowly. "I don't think it's quite that simple," She replied softly. "But it's a kind offer," Xin uttered in that same soft voice. "You are a very kind person, Gaara," She lifted her head from her shoulder, tired eyes staring into his. He could just see the guilt gnawing at her. Maybe she could be a better person, maybe she couldn't. But as he said before, she had to _want _it. Nails suddenly skimmed against his jawline. She drew her nails up to his cheek and then paused. Her nails twitched and suddenly she pulled her nails away only to replace them with them with her hand. She caressed his cheek, skimming her thumb just under his eye.

"Can I kiss you?"

That was a strange question. Especially coming from her with her freakish paranoia and no-touching rule. But her eyes were wide with plea and her lips looked terribly soft. He could tell her no, he mused. He could get up and away from her. He grabbed her thin wrist. "You can." It surprised him how gently she kissed him. The brushes of her lips against his almost felt like feathers touching him. It was nice, he supposed, but it wasn't her. It wasn't them. His hands fell to her waist and he jerked her, readjusting her until she straddled his waist.

Her hands clenched his shoulders a little too tightly but she leaned in again, barely brushing her lips against him. He grunted in dissatisfaction and readjusted her, sitting her directly on his aching erection. The gentle guilt in her eyes vanished and they widened a little. Her unrelenting grip tightened almost painfully and she quickly tried to scramble off him. But his grip around her waist was as strong as the grip she had on his shoulders. He centered just where he wanted her and a low groan rumbled from his throat.

Her body froze and her shoulders stiffened with the feel of his erection pressed so intimately between her thighs. Her face flushed horribly red and she ducked her head down to avoid his gaze. Xin was no stranger to sexual activity, a virgin yes, but she was not completely innocent. Usually she could handle situations like this, she had on multiple occasions. Then again, those occasions usually involved her killing whatever man was underneath her shortly after she accomplished whatever goal had her rubbing up on a erection.

But this was Gaara. This was different. There was no ulterior motives. She had just been trying to convince herself that there was some shred of goodness in her if Gaara allowed her to kiss him. If she had known that her gentle, barely there kisses were turning him on, she would have just gone to bed. "Why'd you stop?" Gaara hummed lowly. She flushed even more and made sure to look at anything but his face or hell, their lower bodies. Her eyes found the pattern of the blankets and she traced them. "Xin…"

"Um," She struggled to say something. "You...um...your…."

"My dick is hard."

"Oh my God."

"You're making my dick hard."

Xin's face dropped into her hands. She let out a slow whine and shook her head. "I didn't just hear that, I didn't," She told herself, wanting to squirm but reminding herself not to. "I was barely touching you," She whispered against her hands in a strained voice.

Gaara shrugged his shoulders and reached up to pry her hands from her face. "It doesn't take much to turn on a man. We're simple beings," He pointed out while setting her hands back on his shoulders. He shifted her and she bit her lip. The redhead watched as she slowly released her bottom lip, now red from her teething. "Do I have to give you more permission to kiss me again?"

Xin's eye twitched at his teasing. Never one to back down, she sank down on him, her arms slipping more comfortably around his neck versus the hard and stiff grip she had on his shoulders. She told herself to relax and leaned in, kissing him more firmly. It was a step up from her previous gentle kisses but it still wasn't enough for Gaara.

He pulled her close, nearly sighing when he felt the roundness of her breasts pressed against his chest. Her hands dropped to his waist and he felt her fingers sifting under his shirt. She clenched the ends of his shirt and yanked. His shirt went easily as he lifted his arms to let her pull it completely off. His hands ran the length of her torso, nails catching onto the netting of her bra. He continued on, fingers dragging against her skin until they sank into her messy hair pinned to her head. He pulled and prodded until her slightly damp hair fell down her back in slight waves. His fingers coiled roughly in her hair and forced her tightly against him.

Xin paused against him, pulling away slightly. "Uh," She pursed her lips against his. "What...what happens next?" She whispered very lightly against him.

Gaara backed away just a bit to look into her eyes. Her face was still red like a tomato and her eyes were darting from left to right almost erratically. Gaara leaned back, palming the mattress to support his weight. Her hands fell away from his shoulders only to capture a stray thick lock of her hair. She threaded the strands through her fingers. "Nothing, I guess," He answered after a bout of silence. Her fingers stilled in her hair and she be briefly glanced at him. Xin shifted just a bit, feeling some sort of way. She just wasn't sure about what she was feeling.

"Nothing?" She parroted before continuing to pull at her hair. It didn't feeling like 'nothing' between her legs, that's for damn sure.

"Were you hoping for something to happen?"

"You're the one with the hard on, not me," Xin pointed out with a huff. Gaara only snorted, obviously seeing no point in denying the blatant truth.

Gaara rolled his eyes. "What do you call this?" He asked while casually pressing a thumb to her breast, easily finding the hardened nipple under the mesh bra.

Xin fidgeted. "Well, I did just take a cold bath," She pointed out wryly, trying to wriggle away from his hand. "Okay, so we're sexually attracted to one another, so what?" She huffed with her red face darkening. Gaara said nothing. "So nothing," Xin answered her own question. "It doesn't change anything between us," She drew her hands out of her hair to snap his hand away from her chest. She all but scrambled off of him, making a noise of disdain when she moved away from his heat.

"Why?" He questioned, watching as she crawled to the top of the bed. The bruises littering her skin were an awful distraction from her curvy hips and round ass. "Why doesn't it change anything?"

"Because who likes change?" Xin muttered, rearranging the pillows almost obsessively. Gaara continued to watch, eyes tracing the curves and muscles of her body. It seemed every time their relationship stepped out of the comfort zone, Xin would harshly shove it back to a standstill. And although her sometimes coy and sly ways were attractive, his body was beginning to grow weary. She would constantly awaken something primal and feral inside of him only to slap back into a tamed state.

He twisted around and reached out, catching her by her tiny ankle. She let out a surprised squeak when he jerked her towards him, using his other hand to flip her onto her back. He expected to be staring into angry eyes with pulsing veins and hard pupils. Instead those phantom eyes were wide with surprise and just a taste—_just a smidgen_—of lust. Her mouth pinched and he quickly let go of her ankle to find her wrists, pinning them down to the soft mattress. "Xin," He scowled darkly, meeting her wide gaze with narrow eyes. "Do you know what you do to me?"

She took a second to glance at the very obvious bulge in his pants. She should know, she had just been sitting on that bulge. He expected a sarcastic reply with a hint of annoyance from her. "Uh," She chanced another glance, cheeks heating up. "That?" She asked almost meekly, eyes finding the ceiling rather interesting. Xin tried to find distractions any way she could, desperate to avoid whatever was about to happen.

"Yes, _that," _Gaara hissed down at her, making it a point to grind his throbbing dick into her crotch. Xin's lips pinched even harder and then she sucked her bottom lip into her mouth. Her teeth found her fleshly lip, biting it almost erratically. Her eyebrows drew together in slight pleasure and she begged herself not to let that moan bubble past her lips.

"Gaara, please," She whined, trying to twist away from his hold. Maybe if she could just get her legs around his neck she could choke him out. Or hell, she could just kick him off of her.

But that would mean hurting him and while she enjoyed the verbal spats, the thought of bringing him physical pain didn't sit right with her. Which was strange because she loved bringing anyone pain. But the thought of hurting Gaara...she vaguely remembered how horrified she felt when she accidentally sucker punched him. No, hurting Gaara was simply out of the question.

A wave of pleasure started from somewhere, she couldn't pin where, but it gradually made its way up her body and forced its way out of her mouth in a long drawn out moan. The sound horrified her and she wished she could just slap her hands over her face and roll over to die.

She wasn't meant for this. She wasn't _trained _for this. That thought struck her as odd. She wasn't a kunoichi at the moment. This was not a mission. Gaara was not a man she was sent to kill. She was just a woman. A wife. His to own and before that thought would have pissed her off beyond all hell. But now...there was almost a smug satisfaction that neatly pulled at her. Her fingers twitched and she felt the material of her pants and panties deepen between her legs. A part of her wanted to blame her ice bath for the damp feeling but she knew she wasn't fooling anyone.

"Uhh," Xin tried to piece together something to say. "You're hurting my wrists," She whispered, breaking the tense silence between them. His fingers slowly uncurled but he didn't let her go. She rolled her lips together and her legs shifted, toes wriggling oddly. Gaara finally released her right wrist but something in his eyes told her not to move. So she didn't, she feared he'd use his sand on her next. His fingers danced down her torso, brushing over her breasts, down the dip of her stomach to the waistline of her shorts. The muscles in her thighs tightened almost nervously.

"Calm down," He ordered roughly. Her dark brows drew together as if to snidely ask '_how?!'. _How was supposed to relax when just the simple brushes of his fingers against her skin was doing something..._odd _to her.

Gaara leaned over her, eyes shining almost deviously when Xin's ears suddenly perked. Hurried footsteps and muffled shouting suddenly had Gaara backing off of her. She huffed, feeling oddly irritated that whatever they had been sharing was ruined. "Oi!" the door flew open just as she sat up. Kankuro hurried in, looking disturbed. Disturbed at the sight of them or whatever had him running around, she wasn't sure. Gaara was standing so she supposed the sight of them didn't look too sketchy. Although, she shifted her legs and crossed them, blushing hotly at the dampness between her legs.

"I thought you were sleeping," Gaara commented calmly, pissing her off that he could easily switch his attitude like that. She ran a hand through her hair, fingers catching on the tangled mess. Sighing heavily, she finger combed her wild locks and searched the bed for her missing hair tie. Finding it in the blankets, she snapped her hair into a ponytail before turning her attention to her brother-in-law.

"We got a problem, Gaara," Kankuro insisted instead of heeding Gaara's words. "The tower. It's been bombed," He told them, eyes wide. Xin gaped at him but Gaara was already moving around with his shirt suddenly back on, easily finding his vest and strapping it into place. His gourd was next, strapping it to the vest easily.

"Stay here, Xin," He ordered, only glancing her way as he hurried out of the door with Kankuro. Xin raised her eyebrows, slightly insulted that he would order her to stay put. Scoffing, she scrambled off of the bed and glanced around the room. With a calm lull about her, she moved around the room to change into her kunoichi garb, strapping the metal war-fans into place. Picking up the scroll that she sealed her naginata into, she strapped that to her back and calmly left the house. Xin knew little of being a wife but she sure as hell knew warfare.

The night sky was light up in flames as the the Kage's tower continued to burn. Xin only vaguely wondered if any Suna Shinobi knew any water techniques to douse the fires eating away at the building. She vaguely caught sight of Gaara, Temari and Kankuro, shouting out orders to get rid of the fire. Her eyes searched the growing crowd, looking for any suspicious behavior that her family was too busy to see.

Xin's gaze caught the slightly nervous gaze of Sagara Genji. She quirked an eyebrow, seemingly unimpressed of his nervous eyes. Making her way easily through the crowd to catch Genji's shoulder with a tight grip. "Don't bother playing dumb, Genji. I know you've got something to do with this," She spoke easily while Genji fidgeted.

"You're accusing me of setting the tower on fire?"

"I didn't say that. I said you have something to do with this. As in, all of this bullshit that's been happening lately and don't bother denying it. I saw you the other night with Kyohei. You gave him something that looked like a parasite," Xin casually told him, walking him away from the crowd. He went easily, already aware of the difference in strength. He was a man, yes, but she was trained kunoichi. There was no fighting her.

"If you don't mind, I'll need you to sit here until we get the under control," She motioned to the fire. Genji only nodded and slowly lowered him to sit on the ground. "My, my," She muttered, rubbing the back of her neck. "This'll be hard to explain to Asuna but…." Xin hummed so casually that he missed the look in her eyes. She raised her leg and stomped down, foot smashing through his knee easily.

Shards of bone ripped at his skin and blood gushed out as he opened his mouth to unleash a silent scream. His leg was suddenly on fire only to numb in the very next moment. Xin stared down at him, eyes oddly dead as she ground her heeled sandal into his crushed knee. "Just making sure you won't run off," Xin shrugged one of her shoulders. "Can't babysit you after all and I know you'd take off the minute I turn my back on you. No hard feelings—" Xin only had a split second to twist around and hold up her arm, metal clashing against the metal of her war-fan strapped to her arm.

She stared into murky blue eyes and bared her teeth before pumping her arm full of Chakra to push against his blade. With a grunt, she shoved him away. Kyohei kicked up sand as he slid backwards, struggling to regain his footing. Xin reached into her sleeves, scowling at the slice in the material of her sleeve left by his sword, and unclipped her fans. She held them up, spreading them with a flick of her thin wrists. The dangerous metal that lined the edges of her fan glinted ominously as she continued to study Kyohei. Her eyes flickered momentarily to Genji, almost smiling at his slumped shoulders. "Defending your brother-in-law?" She asked casually.

Kyohei's eyes narrowed and he slowly turned to Genji, taking note of his crushed knee. "Was it necessary to break his leg? He's a council-member, he's not a threat to you," Kyohei pointed out, trying not to wince of the mess of Genji's knee.

Xin snorted as she inspected the edge of her war fans. "He's your ally, meaning he's a threat," She stated with a shrug. "Kyohei, I'll only say this once and if you refuse, then there is nothing else I can do. Stand down. Surrender. If not, I don't care who you're related to, I will kill you."

Kyohei laughed and cracked his neck. "You Konoha ninja," He rolled his eyes, ignoring the stiff settling of her shoulders. "Always think you're better than everyone and can do anything you set your mind to. Will of Fire, eh? What a load of bullshit."

Xin bared her teeth once more, finished with talking. Kyohei had made his choice and she had made hers. Without warning, she sprinted forward and twisted her fan to swipe it from his hip diagonally up his torso and over his shoulders. Her muscles screamed in protest as she momentarily forgot about the spar with Ukyo only hours ago.

She ignored her protesting muscles as Kyohei scrambled way. There was blood across the edge of the fan now and a slow smile crept across her lips. The wound bled through as his shirt began to soak up the blood. She eyed it with an odd gleam twinkling in her eyes. The night's air was polluted with the stench of blood and fire. Genji watched through a haze of pain, trembling fingers hung over his knee helplessly. Something in him wanted to help Kyohei. His brother-in-law was obviously blinded by his hatred for the woman but it didn't take a genius to see he was no match for Xin. Kyohei was good, he knew, but Xin was...ruthless.

Kyohei was going to die.

Xin spun three times of the tip of her toes in a dangerous twirl and Kyohei did all he could to avoid the fans and her leg. He couldn't avoid the last spin she gave and nearly lost his his hand when her fan sliced through his wrist. Kyohei gritted his teeth, realizing just how much blood he was losing. Xin on the other hand, was unharmed.

In a burst of anger, he tackled her. She let out a surprised gasp and lost the grip on her fans, hearing the skitter somewhere off to the side. He raised his katana above her, eyes light up in anger but she only stared back. The tip of the blade barely touched her neck when she twisted under him. They grappled in the sand violently. Her saw a flash of her pale legs before they wrapped around his neck.

Kyohei had stopped struggling just as the hair on the back of Xin's neck stood on end. She barely had seconds to unwrap her legs and roll out of the way when a barrage of kunai embedded into the ground where she had been laying. She crouched, eyes momentarily finding how far her fans had gone when she finally pinpointed the new addition to the fight. She expected a follower of Masahiro's, dressed up in black with narrowed eyes.

Instead she got Mikawa Jura.

She sighed heavily and stood to her meager height. "Jura," She began to say. Her voice had lost the hard edges when she spoke with Genji and Kyohei. It sounded tired and slightly disappointed. "I'm going to ask you this because you are my friend," her disappointment turned to an almost desperate plea. "Please, stand down."

"I can't do that Xin."

"Don't make me _make you_."

Genji watched the confrontation between the two friends. Former friends? He couldn't decide. Xin was pleading for Jura to stand down so she obviously cared for him. Jura refused her pleas but Genji could tell by the Jura's expression that he obviously wanted to avoid this. But Kyohei was his brother and he would protect his family. Even against his best friend.

Kyohei coughed and gagged, rubbing his throat as he slowly climbed to his feet. Xin eyed the Mikawa brothers before her expression turned stony. There was no avoiding this, she mentally decided. She only briefly glanced behind her, noting that the fire was dwindling. She could probably hold them off until Gaara was able to come to her aide. Her fans were far but she still had her sealed naginata. Hopefully she wouldn't need it against Jura.

Xin cracked her neck. "You were warned. You decided to ignore that warning," She said, the harsh edge coming back to her words. "Aiding Mikawa Kyohei, who is possibly responsible for _this," _Xin paused to motion to the burning tower behind her. "Means you are defending his choices in harming my husband, the Kazekage," Xin could feel her resolve hardened. "You are an enemy to my husband, to Suna. For that, I will show you no mercy."

Giving no warning, she took off into a sprint in Jura's direction. Using the Chakra to aid her, she jumped at him, slinging her arms around his neck. Jura caught her and Xin used the momentum to cause him to take a step back. She straightened her legs, slamming her feet into Kyohei's chest. Jura jerked from Xin's weight and she slid easily out of his arms. She shoved Jura away and spun around to find Kyohei on the ground. The heel of her sandal met his chest and Kyohei let out a breathless gasp before turning on his side. He sucked in mouthfuls of air with hands gripping at his chest. Xin stared down at him with blank eyes, sighing when she felt Jura's chakra pushing at her. Pulling her leg back, she kicked Kyohei some feet away hoping that it would keep him down long enough to take care of his brother.

The blunette turned just in time to duck out of the way of Jura's roundhouse kick. She dodged backwards to avoid his followup attacks. Cursing, she remembered that Jura had been present during her spar with Ukyo. He knew where her bruises were and he was pinpointing them. Gritting her teeth, she palmed his fist. Her fingers curled around his fist and she jerked him forward to smash her knee into his stomach. He bent over slightly and Xin planted her hand on his shoulder, using him to swing herself up and around to sit on his shoulders. She locked her legs around his head and began to pound her fists into the back of his head. She didn't feel the fingers curling into the back of her clothes until she was ripped right off of Jura and flung backwards. Xin hit the ground but curled into a ball, rolling slowly to a stop. The bruises under her clothes were livid, screeching in protest of all of the movement.

"We need to go," Kyohei gasped out, somehow supporting Genji. He shoved his brother-in-law into Jura's arms and jerked his head. Jura's expression was steely as he briefly glanced at Xin. She was climbing to her feet but he could see the slight tremble of her body. If she hadn't already been worn out from earlier, he doubted she would be having such a hard time with dealing with them.

"Jura…." She trailed off softly.

"Xin, he's my brother. He's my family," He said before she could say anything more. "If it were your sisters, you'd do the same," Jura insisted as he shifted Genji into a more comfortable position. He had a feeling his broken knee was Xin's doing.

She gritted her teeth. "Don't give me that bullshit, you met my sisters. They'd never turn on Tsunade like Kyohei turned on Gaara," She spat harshly. "And I don't give a flying fuck who he is. The clouds could part and Kaguya herself could come down and say that same shit and I would still fight her. What you're doing is _wrong, _Jura. This is treason. This is...betrayal. You betrayed me, Jura."

Although her face did not change, Jura took note of the spark of sadness that flitted by in her eyes. It was only there for a second before it was gone, leaving her a mask of cold indifference. "If you leave with them," She spoke quietly as the trio began backing away. "There is nothing I can do for you."

Jura broke their eye contact first, muttering a very soft _'I'm sorry' _before he turned and fled with his brothers. Xin decided to just watch them leave, weary from the battle and the betrayal just thrown into her face. She knew the next time they crossed paths, which would be soon no doubt, she would have to kill all three of them.

Xin didn't turn when she felt someone drop to the right of her. "Xin? Didn't Gaara tell…." it was Kankuro. "Wait, was that Kyohei, Jura and Genji? What the hell just happened? Xin?" Kankuro reached out, grabbing Xin by the wrist. She hissed at the contact and snatched her wrist away. Jura had tried to sprain her wrist when he realized she was the better hand to hand combatant.

She finally tore her eyes away from the fleeing trio. Kankuro wasn't sure what it was but something in her eyes left him a feeling of unease. Xin studied him for a long moment before taking a deep breath, cradling her bruised wrist to her chest. "Fire put out?" She could just glance behind him and see for herself that it was gone but she needed to talk. She needed a distraction from the betrayal that just slapped her in the face. She needed to feel something other than the odd burning from her eyes.

"Yes."

"Anyone injured or dead?"

"Several people were injured, civilian and Shinobi alike. Seven dead, two of them were council-members."

"Baki?"

"No, he wasn't in the tower at the time."

"That's good. He's the only one with sense," She choked out bitterly.

Kankuro snorted but tried to mask it with a cough. "Xin, that's…."

She waved his words off. "I know, I know. That was rude. I just…" She paused, taking a deep another deep breath. "Where's Gaara? Is he alright?" She asked, wondering if she could make it back home before someone notified the Kazekage that his wife was running around when he told her to stay home.

"Gaara is fine," Kankuro nodded. A slight weight had been lifted off her shoulders after hearing that. She had lost her best friend tonight, she wouldn't stand for losing her husband to a fire, of all things. "He's going to be pissed when he finds you," Kankuro told her calmly.

Xin chuckled. "You think I can make it back before someone tells him they spotted me?" She asked. It wasn't possible to make it back on her own, she knew. She was exhausted and her Chakra was doing everything it could to keep her on swaying feet. Perhaps Kankuro could carry her home…maybe if she asked nicely. Although, she didn't think she had to ask, he could clearly see that it was taking everything in her to stay upright.

"Nope," Kankuro answered easily. "He's already spotted you."

"Ah?" Xin puckered her lips and peeked over her shoulder to meet the enraged gaze of the Kazekage. It was silent as Gaara stopped in front of her, looming over her with a dangerous look in his eyes. Kankuro took a careful step back, already knowing that Gaara's temper could rival Xin's temper. He'd rather not be within striking range. A nervous smile crept over her lips.

"Hiiiiiiiiii."

* * *

_Xin's P.O.V_

Suna was in a frenzy the next day. With the death of two council-members, several injured civilians and shinobi and five other deaths, the village demanded retribution. Only, no one was sure who deserved the retribution. Except for me, I suppose. And I would have told Gaara already but before I had the chance, I gracefully passed out right into his chest last night. Luckily by the time I woke back up, Gaara was already meeting with his council and didn't have the chance to scold me for not listening to him.

Despite feeling exhausted, I dragged my ass out of bed and headed to the hospital. I couldn't take a day off, not when the village was in turmoil. The village needed someone and since Gaara was busy with all the technicalities, they would have to settle for me. I spent the morning stitching bodies back together with Ukyo and Minori at my heels. Minori was quiet and though she was usually quiet, something hung over her that had me studying her in between.

When late afternoon rolled around, I made my way into Gaara's meeting. None of the council members seemed surprised at seeing my face, probably since they were made aware of my presence last night. All morning I'd been dreading this confrontation but it had to happen. I skirted around the table, coming to Gaara's side. There were two empty chairs for me to sit at courtesy of the death of the two council members last night. Despite that, I opted to stand next to Gaara. I didn't have the best relationship with the council but I had enough sense not to disrespect the dead.

Gaara was staring at me, obviously still furious since I ignored his order to stay home last night. Instead, I found Baki's stern gaze. He knew I knew something and though we originally planned to keep things under wraps, I knew that was all blown to shit. I picked nervously at my hair before smoothing it down and twisting my fingers together in attempt to keep myself together.

"Xin," Mai spoke up first, eyeing me impassively. "It's good to see you're unharmed after last night's events. I've been informed that you were involved in some sort of scuffle?" She asked, long nails tapping against the tabletop. I thought back to my wedding day when someone had washed my hair and I felt like my scalp was being dug out. Of course it was Mai's doing.

I wonder who told her about my scuffle last night but shrugged it off, there were more important things to talk about besides who snitched on me. "That is true," I replied easily, slowly edging down on the arm of Gaara's chair. I didn't bother with forcing his arm around my waist. With the anger brewing off of him, I wouldn't put it past him to shove me off the arm of the chair. "I only came to help if anyone was injured," I told them. I wasn't really sure if that was true or not. "But I was distracted…"

I told them about Genji, Kyohei and Jura. Even though it broke my heart to mention Jura. I told them about my suspicions ever since those parasites began popping up in Suna. I told them about my paranoid attitude towards Kyohei and our many spats. I told them how Gaara and I had been keeping tabs on them but I didn't expect them to actually set his tower on fire last night.

My eyes were burning by the time I was finished talking. The room was awkwardly silent as the information sank in. Baki seemed to be the only one indifferent to it all. I picked at my hands nervously, finding them much more interesting.

Gaara's arm suddenly slipped around my waist and pulled at me until I was leaning against his shoulder. I blinked, taken aback that he even acknowledged me. Deciding not to be a little shit for once, I relaxed against him with a soft sigh. I mostly tuned the rest of the conversation out. It's not like they really needed my input anymore. And besides, what do I care if they send a team out to track those three morons down anyway? I asked them to stand down. Last night could have gone differently. When they began discussing listing the three in the Bingo Book, I decided I had enough.

Muttering a goodbye, I made a quick exit. I was just stepping out of the building when a hand slid around my elbow and jerked me backwards. Instead of fighting the grip like I would have usually done, I just allowed myself to be jerked back.

Gaara spun me around and was the only reason I didn't topple over. I just couldn't seem to get my balance right. I swayed on unsure feet, catching myself against walls all morning with trembling hands. "You're trembling," He stated simply with no room to argue. And why even bother arguing? I was trembling. I was tired. I just wanted to head back to the house, crawl under a pile of blankets and just stay there all day. "Did you get hurt last night?" Gaara asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Ah?" I shook my head. "Not really…" I answered as he grabbed the hem of my shirt and drew it up to my chest. Despite the bruises being a day old and previously iced down, they were vibrant against my flesh. They looked fresh while some, the ones Jura had pinpointed, were already turning a purple so dark that it nearly looked black. Well shit, that looked bad. I studied some of the bruises, genuinely surprised by how grotesque they looked. No wonder my body couldn't stop trembling all morning. On top of that, I was using all of my Chakra to attend to the injured and there was barely any left to nourish my own injuries.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Gaara swore down at me, immediately letting go of my arm. He bent slightly to run his cool fingertips across my mottled skin. I bit my bottom lip, almost craving his touch and the memories of last night before the tower was light on fire came to my mind.

"It's not as bad as it looks," I tried to lie evenly while swatting at his hand. No, it was definitely much worse. It's like as soon as I actually looked at the bruises, they began to ache horribly. I stumbled to the side from an particularly intense pain that burned near my hip and Gaara reached to steady me. "There's more important injuries to attend to than some old bruises."

"They're not old, Xin. These happened yesterday," He reminded me with a hard bite to his words. "Why don't you just listen when I tell you to do something? I told you to stay home and you disobeyed me."

I inhaled sharply, trying not to lose my temper. "I'm not a dog, Gaara," I pointed out tightly. "You're overreacting now let go, I'm needed at the hospital. Stop worrying, I'll get Ukyo to look at them, okay?" I tried to soothe his anger, knowing that he was seconds from dragging me home. He didn't look convinced and I waved his hands away once again to roll my shirt back down. In the very next second, he surprised me by wrapping his arms around me as gently as he could. His hand palmed the back of my head, pressing my face to his neck. I could feel the muscles twitching as he kept a loose grip around my waist lest he wanted to aggravate the bruises.

Several emotions bubbled under my finely crafted mask. They pushed at my mask, desperately eager to show themselves to the world, to Gaara. I clenched my jaw and shoved back at those emotions, burying them deep where they belonged. Ninja didn't have time for that.

I did, however, relax into Gaara's embrace. I worked my arms around his wide torso. I really wanted him to hug me much tighter but I knew that was out of the question. With my bruise addled body, he'd probably treat me like fragile glass until they healed. I was the first one to pull away, tilting my head up to smile a hopefully cheerful smile at him. I wasn't sure if he was hugging me because I looked like I got my ass kicked or if it was because I lost Jura but the gesture was nice. "You're a stubborn woman," Gaara stated gruffly. My smile didn't falter. "But you are mine," He shook his head but looked amused. "You are my stubborn woman."

I blushed but nodded, feeling the weight of my wedding band on my finger. He dipped down low enough to kiss me. And yes I was getting used to all the kissing but we were in public, after all. It was strange to see how far we've come from the bickering fake couple to an actual married couple. I had to stretch to the tip of my toes to kiss him like I wanted to and even though it made my bruises ache, it was worth it. His kiss was soft and even though I wanted more out of it, I didn't push for it. Gaara was aggressive and I didn't feel like having my back slammed into a wall.

I was settling to the flats of my feet when I felt another Chakra presence approaching. I smiled again and patted his chest but Gaara was still holding onto me when Baki rounded the corner. "Are you alright, Xin?" He asked gruffly, standing a good distance away. I directed my smile at him, pleased that he didn't bother with my stuffy title.

"I'm fine, Gaara just worries too much," I mused, patting his chest again. "If you don't let go, I can't find Ukyo to ask her to look me over," I pointed out in amusement. "And I'm sure you're needed, right Baki?"

Baki nodded sharply. "There's still much to discuss. The council awaits your return," the older ninja informed him. Gaara only nodded and then quickly glanced at Baki. The older man was looking off to the side, finding the wall very interesting. I laughed very softly and accepted the next kiss with a roll of my lips.

"If you insist on going to the Hospital, I want you to stop healing. I'm sure the staff can survive today without you lending a hand. Overseeing their process of healing is fine but I want you to recover your Chakra. Understand?"

I made a show of leaning my head back and groaning. "Yesssssss," I said through my groan. "Got it. Take it easy, no healing. Just watching. Understood," I worked myself out of his arms. "Don't work too hard."

With a wave, I was back out under the sun. I frowned and glanced behind me to see Baki following me out. I quirked an eyebrow and waited, hand on my hip. "The council meeting can continue with my absence for a few minutes," He offered when he reached me.

"Mn," I nodded to his reasoning. "Gaara didn't send you to walk me to the Hospital, did he?" I asked. Baki shook his head.

"No but he didn't object when I told him I will you see you to the hospital."

"Course not."

It was silent for a good two minutes before Baki spoke up. "You're aware I'm not walking you back because of Gaara," He stated instead of asking. I only shrugged. Everyone had an angle. "Xin, is your relationship with Jura going to hinder this?"

"Hinder what?"

"They're branded as traitors. You know what happens to traitors."

"Of course I do. I'm the one usually tracking them down."

Baki nodded. "I know Jura was a close friend of yours but no exceptions can made. Especially since that fire has resulted in the death of two of our council members."

"You think I'm gonna get emotional and beg you not to condemn him? I told him last night that if he followed his brother, there's nothing I can do for him…"

"I don't expect you to beg. You don't seem to be the type. I was just making sure that you knew of the consequences."

I turned the corner and the hospital came into view. "Is there anything else?" I asked, knowing that we were coming too close to civilians to further discuss this. My stomach was in twists and knots of the mention of Jura being a traitor. Jura wasn't a traitor. Not big, goofy Jura.

"The council feels that the rest of his family should be investigated. That was decided when Gaara followed you out, it's likely that he still does not know," Baki's voice was impossibly low and I felt my eyes widen.

"His family? The sisters? Why? Asuna is pregnant, it's going to stress her out if someone investigates her. And Hatsune...she's only fifteen or sixteen, she wouldn't know shit!" I argued, my voice raising a couple octaves. I really didn't care about Hatsune but it would be kind of shitty to defend Asuna and not her as well. "And Hideki…" I almost forgot about him. "He's just a kid, what would he know?"

Baki shot me a severe look, one that looked like the many looks my Grandfather wore on a regular basis. "I thought you said you wouldn't get emotional about this."

"I never said that," I pointed out crossly. "I said I wouldn't hinder the three idiots being tracked down. The remaining Mikawa siblings know nothing."

"And how do we know that without investigating it first? We can't just assume they know nothing."

I pouted and massaged the bridge of my nose. He was obviously right but hell if I wanted to admit it. "Fine, fine. Investigate if you must but if Asuna is agitated at all, I'll smack the shit out of someone, you hear me?"

"Everyone does, my Lady."

"Ha, look who found a sense of humor…" I muttered with a snort. Some people were looking at me but I think that by now, the citizens were used to it. With a short wave, I went into the Hospital, intent on settling down and nourishing my Chakra. I mumbled a quick greeting to the woman at front desk and hurried to my office. With a loud groan, I flopped down into the chair. I leaned over the desk, burying my head in my arms with a great big sigh.

I decided against having Ukyo take a look at the bruises. She'd have a conniption if I showed her the results of our spar. Not that it was even her fault but I knew that girl would blame herself. I'd either suck it up or I could get someone else to look at them. "Should've stayed on that honeymoon," I muttered into my arm. It was strange how things had escalated since coming back from the honeymoon. Everything had literally went to shit and we've only been back for a week and a half. "What's with all this bad luck I seem to have? This is some bad juju…."

I sighed again and lifted my hand off the desk to run over the back of my skull. A big part of me was so angry with Jura. How could he do something like this? How could he just throw things out of whack like this with no regard for the consequences that followed? And what the fuck was a sorry going to do? Was it going to keep his family from being investigated? No. Would it keep me from snapping Kyohei's neck the minute I got my hands around his scrawny neck? Hell no. Would it stop Jura from whatever punishment the council was brewing up? Nope.

Big idiot….

This was all Masahiro's doing, who hadn't even made an appearance since my back was injured. Amazing what a man's influence can cause. Amazing what having a common hatred for another person could do. This had to end soon. This was all fun and games when they were just making threats on mine and Gaara's lives. But several people were dead, including Usui and two council members. Something had to happen and it had to happen soon.

Meaning I needed to find Jura, Kyohei or Genji and I needed to do it soon.

* * *

TeeBeMe: I really need a beta reader. I feel like a lot of shit went down. This story is coming to a close soon, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!


	20. You can't wake up, this is not a dream

She supposed she really couldn't be angry. And then again, that's what made her so angry. She had seen it coming from the start and she hadn't done anything but speculate. If Lena was still alive, she'd punch Xin dead in her face for being sloppy.

It had started very early in the morning. Xin ate her breakfast and went to the Hospital. Her Chakra was still pathetically low but she figured she could at least do all the paperwork that had accumulated from the deaths and injuries. A knock momentarily distracted her and she grunted that they were cleared to come in. "Good morning, Lady," Minori poked her head in the room before she entered. Xin only glanced at her and offered a tight but tired smile. She waved her hand at the young girl and turned back to the second death certificate she had been filling out.

"Good morning. Where's Ukyo?"

Minori smiled a smile that was too sweet. She came to stand next to Xin, placing a styrofoam cup down. "She told me she's running late, Kankuro-San scheduled an early morning training session. She asked me to bring you tea, Kazekage-sama said you can't have coffee until next week," She stated easily. Xin almost groaned, wishing for coffee. She really could use some coffee right about now. She cursed that damn card game and her awful luck but grabbed the cup. Muttering a thanks, she took a long gulp. Her face twisted at the odd taste. This wasn't the regular tea Ukyo had been bringing her the past couple of days.

She frowned when her mouth suddenly dried out. "Minori?" She stood slowly, clutching at the back of the chair when the room started to spin. She took a long, agonizing breath and blinked hard. Everything was spinning, her mouth was a dry as the desert surrounding the village and her head was throbbing horribly. "Min...ori…" Xin almost gagged, catching Minori's stoic gaze as she stood next to the door. The young girl didn't move, she just stared at Xin as the room continued to spin. The door opened slowly as Xin's grip on the chair weakened. A very large figure came hunkering through and Xin was sure that even if her brain wasn't rattling around in her head, she knew she didn't know this large man.

Xin let go of the chair and dropped to her hands and knees, dry heaving. She chanced a glance at Minori, eyes narrowed. Minori continued to stare back, just waiting. Xin plunged two of her fingers down her throat, gagging around the digits as her stomach did twists. She heard Minori give a shout as Xin spat out brown liquid. The large man took a step forward and suddenly the back of Xin's head started to hurt. Her eyes rolled to the back of her skull and she promptly passed out.

The man caught Xin by the back of her shirt before she could drop into her own throw up. With a quiet grunt, he jerked her up into his arms. "I thought you said that poison would do its job."

Minori only shook her head. "I told Mashiro that she wouldn't go down without a fight. Let's go before Gaara sends someone to check on her…"

Minori led the large man out, briefly stopping to tell the woman at the front desk that Xin had overworked herself and passed out. She easily believed the lie, seeing as how Xin had overworked herself before, and let them go with a smile.

And no one stopped the two.

* * *

When Xin finally opened her eyes, she realized that she was rocking back and forth. Xin blinked hard, hoping that she wasn't on a boat in Kiri somewhere. "Please, God…" She grumbled softly. She shifted slightly and felt that her hands were bound behind her back but her ankles weren't bound together. That was something she could work with, she thought.

"You're awake already?"

Xin turned, finding the large man hunkered down and sitting next to Kyohei. "Oh hell no…" Xin hissed, feeling her anger bubble from the pit of her stomach. She barely registered that they seemed to be in a caravan. "_A caravan? We're rocking too much for us to still be in Suna. They must have dragged me out of the village. I need to get outside to pinpoint my location.." _She thought quickly, eyes darting around the dark caravan. "I hope that wherever we're going, Genji and Jura are there…" Xin slowly sat up, studying their body language. They were relaxed, they didn't expect her to do anything. From what she heard, they weren't even expecting her to wake up yet.

"Do you miss my brother?"

"I missed my opportunity in slaughtering him the other night along with you and Genji. I won't miss that again."

The large man suddenly let out a loud bark of laughter. Xin turned her attention towards him, having forgotten about him. He grinned at her and leaned forward. "What a feisty little thing! Tell me, little one, do you really believe you'll be able to do any damage to anyone? You're outnumbered tremendously and you've been poisoned. Tell me, what can you do about all that?"

Xin smirked. Kyohei paled.

* * *

"You're fidgeting, Minori. You know I hate that."

Minori frowned uneasily and twisted her hands together in her lap. The older man, Masahiro glanced at her. The two were sitting at the front of the caravan with Mashiro controlling the two horses with the reins. His eyes glittered in the sunlight and he offered a smile. "You know _she_ wasn't fond of your twitching. Don't start that bad habit back up."

Minori only nodded. "Of course, Hiro. How could I forget?" She muttered slowly. "It's just that...that woman…" Minori trailed off when an uneasy feeling in her stomach began to brew. "She's dangerous, Hiro. I don't think you're taking her seriously."

Mashiro continued to smile. "There is no need to worry, Minori. That woman swallowed the poison you put in the tea, didn't she? And for good measure, Kenta even gave her the big swell on the back of her head. There is nothing to worry about. She is no threat right now."

Minori opened her mouth to argue only to let out a gasp when the caravan rocked violently. Masahiro struggled to gain control as the horses were startled. There was a sound of wood breaking and another rocking as something in the back hit the ground. Mashiro scrambled off of the seat first and Minori only followed at a slow pace. Whatever was going on back there, it had something to do with Xin and she wanted no parts of that.

The two made it to the back just as Kyohei was crawling out of the dirt. Kenta was nowhere in sight and Mashiro searched for his Chakra signature, finding him a half mile behind them. "What the hell…" He muttered as the tiny pale woman hopped out of the caravan. Her hands were still bound behind her back but she didn't seem to care. In fact, she didn't seem to care about any of them as her eyes searched her surroundings.

"Mountain? We're up a mountain, there's trees everywhere. No sand animals, normal looking birds mostly found in Konoha…" Xin muttered to herself as she continued to search around her. "Can't really tell without my Byakugan but it looks like we're twenty-five miles from Konoha, which means I've been missing for a week or so…"

"I didn't think you'd be able to get up so soon," Masahiro interrupted Xin's one sided conversation. She turned to him, frowning. "That poison was enough to keep you down until we reached our destination."

Xin shrugged one shoulder with a bored look. "Well, I forced the majority of it out before that big idiot punched me in the back of my head. Oh, they didn't tell you that?" She quirked an eyebrow at Masahiro's angry face. No wonder she had woken up early, she forced the damn poison out. Xin turned away from Mashiro to look at Minori. She tilted her head to the side and smiled slowly. "Minori….oh ho ho, I knew it," She was almost grinning now. "I am really going to enjoy yanking your entrails out. Remember what I told you, Minori? Oh, it's going to happen…"

Minori took a step back when her heart leapt to her throat. Xin only broke her gaze when Kenta landed heavily next to Kyohei. His arm hung uselessly at his side and there was a large bruise on the side of his face. Clearly Xin had been the reason he'd been tossed a half mile backwards. She looked at them as her vision started swimming. Cursing, she realized that not all of the poison had left her and it was now attacking her once more. Knowing she would pass out in mere minutes, she turned her eyes back to the caravan. Lifting her leg into a wide arch, she crushed the caravans wheel under her foot.

She slipped her foot under the broken wheel and kicked it at Kenta. It ricocheted off the side of his head and slammed into Kyohei's side. Minori watched it happen with morbid fascination, honestly amazed that even on swaying feet and depleted chakra, Xin could cause so much damage.

In the second it took to look back at Xin, she was in a slump on the ground, unconscious. Masahiro only shook his head in disbelief as Kyohei and Kenta both groaned. He approached Xin's body carefully, wary of her suddenly springing up to attack him. When she didn't move, he gathered her in his arms. He surveyed the caravan, cursing when he realized they had no choice but to continue on foot.

This woman….

* * *

_Xin's P.O.V_

The next time I opened my eyes, we weren't in the caravan. Hopefully when I broke the wheel off, it slowed them down enough for Suna to catch up. That is, if they even noticed I was missing. But I'm pretty sure Gaara must have noticed by now. They must have noticed I was missing when they came home to an empty house and no dinner.

Sighing heavily, I looked around. "They put me behind bars, how cliche," I mumbled while shifting, the floor was cold and kind of wet. I scowled when I realized there was a long jagged rip down the side of my skirt. Well, that was lovely. The room I was in was dim and breezy. Water was dripping somewhere. "Perfect," I huffed and tested the cuffs around my wrists. The chain rattled as I experimented with its strength. If I could recover enough of my Chakra, I probably could just bust out of here without having to wait for Gaara to come rescue me like some idiotic damsel.

The sound of footsteps echoing towards me had me pausing. The door opened and Masahiro came in followed by Kyohei. Mashiro's face was a mask of indifference while Kyohei looked obviously annoyed. "Yo," I spoke casually. "Is this really necessary? And what the fuck happened to my skirt?" I jiggled the cuffs around my wrists. "I mean, really, don't you think it's a tad too much?"

Mashiro leaned against the bars, his mask of indifference pinching into bemusement. "You broke Kenta's arm when you kicked him out of the caravan, you broke the caravan and then used the broken wheel to wound both Kenta and Kyohei. All of this on less than half of your Chakra. I think it's quite necessary."

I smiled at hearing that Kenta's arm was broken. Serves him right for goading me for no fucking reason. And also for punching me in the back of my head. I mean, honestly, who does that? Big oaf.

"Kyohei," I rolled my head into his direction. He scowled back at me, hand rubbing at his side. "Anything on you break when that wheel hit you? Well, not that I really care. Once I get out of this—_and believe me, I will_—I'm going to make sure you have more to worry about than a wheel hitting you in your side."

The traitorous Mikawa only stared back at me with a harsh scowl. I smiled innocently in return. "It's amazing how many of us want to kill you now more than we want to kill your husband," He commented with an obvious hint of snark to his tone.

I laughed airily. "Well, you can certainly try," I tried to shrug my shoulders but on the account of my arms being above me, it looked kind of weird. "Anyway, onto more important things. Masahiro? Would you be kind enough to enlighten me the entire point of _this_? Couldn't you have just offered a battle to the death to my husband? It'd probably be much more entertaining than watching me kick the shit out of your idiotic followers once I break free…"

Masahiro smiled at me and I noted how his eyes glittered in the dim-light. "You have quite the ego, don't you?"

"Well, given that fact that I threw enough of the poison up to get up and wound dumb and dumber over there and destroy your inconspicuous mode of transportation, I'd say it's well earned. Oh, not to mention that my hands were tied behind my back but who's keeping track? Oh, that's right, I am," I grinned brightly. Masahiro's smile dropped at my shameless gloating. "If we're being honest, you better hope Gaara tracks me down before I get out of here myself. He's more merciful than I am, just ask Satoru and Kimi…"

"So they are alive," Kyohei narrowed his eyes. Oh, now he cared about his fellow Suna Shinobi? Sure as hell didn't care when he set the goddamn Tower on fire, resulting in seven deaths. Idiot.

"Sure they are," I answered casually. "Satoru is missing some fingers on his left hand though. Kimi is alive but I'm sure I scared the living shit out of her and she may never speak again but she is alive…"

"You are an evil woman, aren't you?"

"Hoo-boy, we haven't even gotten started. You ain't seen nothing yet."

Mashiro chuckled but I noticed that he gripped the bars pretty hard. So hard that his knuckles were actually turning white. Signs of a psychopath. I also noticed the very dark circles under his eyes. Running on a little bit of sleep. Two signs that really weren't good.

"So can I talk to Minori and Jura?" I asked, watching his hands blatantly. He must have taken notice of my obvious stare because his fingers uncurled from the bars. He slid them into his pockets and sighed heavily.

"You're not going to talk Jura into joining your side again," Kyohei pointed out before Masahiro could answer. I looked at him briefly, frowning.

"What're you, five? Joining my side again like its a fucking competition. Do you think I give a shit if he decides to play musical chairs with this, you moron? I need to talk to him."

"And Minori?" Masahiro prompted. I stared at him blankly. "She seems to be terrified of you. I hope you don't think I'd just give her to you."

"She should be terrified of me. I wanted to kill her when she first popped up. Jura was the one who saved her, I guess. I didn't believe that sob story about being from Kiri for one bit…"

"Oh?"

"Oh," I nodded firmly. "Slave traders, that's believable but you can't fool me."

"And why not?"

"Her skin tone."

"Her skin tone…" Masahiro repeated, obviously unconvinced. I nodded again, this time with a smile.

"Have you ever been to Kiri? They don't get a lot of sun over there, what with all that mist and everything. The villagers from Kiri all seem to be very pale since they don't get too much sunlight. But Minori, I noticed, has a very healthy tan…"

"You're quite pale for someone who comes from Konoha, which to my knowledge, gets a lot of sun due to being in the Fire Country."

"Genetic family trait. We all look like this," I shrugged my awkward shrug. "So, where's she from? Suna? Can't be Konoha, I probably would have recognized her," I stated airily. Masahiro wasn't smiling nor was he frowning. He was just staring at me. Ah, an aimless stare. Another sign of a psychopath. Clearly I wasn't getting that information any time soon. "Well, I do have one request."

"That's...surprising."

I wanted to shrug but my arms were staring to burn from being suspended up in the air for so long. "I'm guessing that you'll want me alive by the time Gaara gets here, right? Well, I'm low on Chakra and I'm bruised beyond hell. Plus I'm recovering from poison, which was unnecessary but whatever. I need food. Or water. Something. If you'd be so kind as to feed me, I'd like Minori to bring me some food. Or water. Totally your call."

I had to make it seem like he was in complete control. He'd be more willing to appease to my _silly demands_. Masahiro watched me for a long time but I didn't change my expression either. "Perhaps...now, if you'll excuse us, we have things to attend to…"

"Of course," I puckered my lips into a wry smile. "Oh, and Kyohei? You might want to ice that bruise on your side. I noticed you seem to be catering to it a lot.."

The door slammed shut. I only smiled.

I didn't see much of anyone for awhile. My Chakra was at a standstill because I hadn't eaten anything. There was nothing for it to feed off of. So I was stuck to that wall with a rip up the side of my skirt for who knows how long. It was annoying but it did give me time to think. About Jura, Minori and even Gaara. I had to wonder if Gaara would even come after me. He could just send a team out to recover me. It was no use to put the both of us in danger.

But still, a small part of me hoped that he would go through the trouble of getting me back. I mean, I am his wife and everything. I paused with a frown. Even so, his villagers are more important to look after. I'm a kunoichi, I constantly say it. I can take care of myself just fine.

Our marriage...I was beginning to see that it really wasn't just an act. I figured that we would simply learn to tolerate one another. But things had taken an odd turn and whatever we were going through, we certainly wasn't just tolerating one another.

I huffed and shifted my arms. They had begun to ache and the bruises felt strained. They could have at least tied my hands behind my back again instead of chaining them up like this. But then again, I'd probably be able to get to my feet and figure out a quicker way to get out of here. My eyes were searching the room for any means of escape when the door suddenly eased open. I didn't pay much attention to it. Unless it was someone coming to help buss me out, I couldn't give two flying fucks.

It was Minori. Greaaaat.

"Minori," I smiled kindly. "So nice to see you, how are you? Wearing black now, I see. Black doesn't really fit you, you know? Was that, like, one of Masahiro's requirements of working for him?"

"I don't work for him…" Minori replied, hands gripping the mug tightly. I only stared at the mug, wondering of its contents.

"Course you don't," I agreed easily. "So what's a girl like you doing working for Masahiro? What did Gaara do to you?" I pried at her, hoping I could find out her angle. I only wanted to know it so I had a good reason to kill her. I mean, she aided in my kidnapping but I'm sure they would try to make it seem like it was against her will.

She caught my gaze and easily broke it. "Hiro says I shouldn't speak to you. He said you would try to lure me into a false sense of security…"

Hiro, huh? Interesting. They're on a nickname basis so obviously there's more to their relationship than just her working under him.

"Why lure you into a false sense of security? For as long as I've known you, have I ever tried luring you into any false sense of anything?"

"I wish you had."

"Well that's too bad, now isn't it?" I sang out. "So, what're you doing in here if it's not to tell me your tragic backstory in hopes that I'll sympathize with you and turn on my husband."

Minori made a face but dug into her pockets, producing a ring of keys. She unlocked the iron door and slid it open. Taking a careful step in, she eyed me like I wasn't chained to the goddamn wall. "Hiro says we should give you something to drink, at least."

"You'll have to help me then, as you can see, my hands are all tied up. And I doubt you'd unlock these cuffs so that I can do it myself…"

"I'm nervous, not stupid…"

I smiled innocently. "Could've fooled me…"

Minori pointedly ignored me to crouch in front of me. "You promise not to hurt me?" She asked slowly, still holding onto whatever the fuck was in that mug. I rolled my eyes and leaned my head back.

"Sure, I won't hurt you."

Minori nodded and scooted closer to me. She pressed the rim of the mug to my lips and tipped it. I drank the liquid, almost immediately tasting something funny in the water. My eyes narrowed and I shifted into action, twisting at the waist to wrap my legs around her neck in a death-like grip. I tightened them, barely feeling the water splash against my chest and soaking my shirt as Minori lost her grip on the cup. It clattered the ground, shattering into a million sharp pieces.

Minori struggled and weakly slapped at my thighs but I kept my grip around her neck relentlessly.

When her body began to slouch between my legs and her struggles lessened, I knew I was almost there. Unfortunately I heard a surprised shout right before my calf began to burn. My grip around Minori's neck weakened and then I suddenly took a punch to the head. The metal in the glove of the knuckles ripped my forehead open and blood began to spill down the side of my head. Only then did I let go of Minori enough for her to be yanked out of my grip.

With Minori out of range, I scowled and opened my mouth to spit out the water held in my mouth. Somehow I managed not to swallow any of it even with Minori's struggles.

Masahiro slapped the living bullshit out of me. He had enough force to jerk my head to the side and I felt more of the blood beginning to gush out of my head. I glanced down at the burning sensation to see a kunai lodged into my calf. "That's gonna scar…" I mumbled thoughtfully. I slowly looked up into Masahiro's angry eyes. They glittered like expensive jade in the darkness of my little holding cell. They were pretty, I guess, but couldn't compare to Sakura's pretty green eyes I noted almost numbly.

"You claimed you wouldn't try to hurt her."

Ah, so he heard. He'd probably been listening in. Good thing for her, I suppose. Otherwise, she'd be long dead and I'd probably try to get the keys with my toes. "I didn't try to hurt her," I answered simply. "I was trying to kill her. Totally different," I answered simply. Masahiro slapped me again. Hard. I bit the inside of my cheek and glared up at him. He bent to rip the kunai away but I jerked my leg away, despite how bad it hurt. "It's keeping me from bleeding out. Unless you're going to give me medical attention immediately, I suggest you leave that in there lest you want me to die before Gaara gets here…"

He snarled in my face but I smiled back. He jerked away, holding Minori to his chest. I rolled my eyes, what a pathetic child. He backed out of the cell, still glaring at me the entire time. "Jura! Take care of this!"

"Oh, Masahiro?" I prompted before he could stomp off. He turned sharply to look over his shoulder at me. I leaned forward slightly, still smiling. Masahiro's eyes flickered momentarily but I thought nothing of it. "You might think you have me just where you want me, but I think it's only fair that I tell you that you don't," I ignored his threatening flare of Chakra. "You may think you're crazy and you might just be crazy but your crazy is _nothing _compared to mine, understand? You are just a simple rainstorm but I am a fuckin' hurricane. And I _will _destroy you."

Masahiro didn't reply but I could see another flicker in his eyes. I sat back, thoroughly pleased and smiled a little casual smile before Masahiro continued to stomp away. As soon as he was gone, Jura appeared. I scowled, completely angry that for the first time since meeting him, I wasn't happy to see the big moron. "Xin…."

"Jura." I replied coldly. He stepped into the cell and wandered near me. I thought of trying to choke him like Minori but thought better of it. That kunai could be a problem if it's not taken care of soon. He knelt in front of me and reached his hands out to my leg. I rolled my eyes and stretched my wounded leg out to him.

"I know you're angry," Jura began to say as he started to work the kunai out of my calf. I only vaguely felt the sting as the sharpened knife slid easily out of my flesh. The blood started to instantly pour but Jura pressed a thick towel to it to halt the blood flow. I purposely ignored his stupid statement. "But like I said the other night, if it were your sisters—"

"Bullshit, Jura. Neither Hinata or Hanabi would set anything on fire."

"Kyohei didn't set anything on fire."

"Then who the fuck did, Jura? The fire fairies? Your brother is a fucking psychopath and I'm going to gut him like a fish when I get out of here."

Jura peeled the towel away to see if the bleeding had stopped. "You think I'm going to let you kill my brother?" He asked quietly, pressing the towel a little too hard to my bleeding wound.

"You think you can stop me?"

Jura didn't look at me but his shoulders stiffened. He peeled the blood soaked towel away and began to wrap my wound. Idiot didn't even properly clean the damn wound. Good God, I was going to either bleed out or get an infection. It was silent between the two of us while he wrapped my wound. "Your siblings are under investigation…." I told him with relaxed shoulders. The bandage around my leg was suddenly yanked too hard and I hissed at him. "Easy, big guy! Jesus Christ and all twelve, you're gonna give me _another _bruise!"

Jura actually looked guilty for a split second. "Why would my siblings be investigated? They haven't done anything…."

"Gee, Jura, I don't know, could it be that Kyohei, Genji and you, all from the same family, put the Kazekage in danger? Why do you think?! You dumbass, you put your siblings right in the middle of this! This is what I was trying to tell you but do you ever listen to me? Nooooo," I let him soak that in. "When you said you were going to talk to your brother, I didn't think you meant you were going to turn on Suna."

"I didn't turn on Suna," Jura snapped angrily.

"Then what in the seven fucks do you call _this?_" I could only wriggle my fingers but I wriggled them vigorously. "Because _this _does not look it's done in Suna's favor."

Jura had no comeback for that, not that I wanted to hear it anyway. "Look, I get it, I do. He's your family, he's important to you and you want to hold your family together any way that you can. I understand, I really do," I licked my lips. "But just because he's your family does _not_ mean what he's doing is excusable and by protecting your idiotic brother, you left your sisters and your little brother to Suna. You aided in Kyohei's escape but left them behind. You left them to our mercy."

"What're you, my fuckin' conscience?" Jura suddenly shoved my leg away. I hissed and nearly kicked him in retaliation but he swept himself away. "I know what I did, I know what I chose. You don't have to keep reminding me."

"I think I do, you big buffoon. Your stupid brother's acts has resulted in the deaths of seven Suna villagers. People were hurt for no reason, they were just doing their fuckin' jobs and they nearly paid for it with their lives. Some of them did. And you're too pigheaded to see that your firebug of a fuckin' brother is wrong for it. All because he has some weird, obsessive vendetta against my husband—"

"Do you love him?"

"Excuse me?"

Jura paced the tiny length of my cell. "Gaara-san. Do you love him? Kyohei told me that….that he doesn't believe what you two share is real."

"Of course I love him, why else would I marry him?"

"Kyohei says—"

"For shit's sake, Jura, stop listening to everything that comes out of his mouth! He's a goddamn psychopath!"

"Xin, _you're the psychopath_!"

It was awkwardly silent between us again. There had always been jokes shared between us about my sanity. And while before I would be playfully defensive, I suddenly felt like Jura had slapped me in the face. The guilt was evident on his face but I had decided that enough was enough. "It doesn't matter anymore," I uttered quietly. "You, Minori, Genji and Kyohei have been branded as traitors. If I get the say so, I'll kill you myself."

Jura easily wiped the guilty look off of his face for a cold one. "That is, if you can get out of here."

The cell door slammed shut followed by another slam of the door. I scowled, wishing I had my Chakra restored. But I didn't and all I could do was wait.

* * *

Gaara noticed her sandals wasn't there when he returned home. He sighed, already readying himself for the upcoming argument he was about to have with her when he dragged her from the Hospital. The audacity of that woman to always claim that he was a workaholic. She was just as bad as him. Well, perhaps she would be too tired to argue with him and it would be easy to drag her out of her office.

"Gaara? Is Xin with you?" Temari suddenly appeared in the parlor, frowning softly. Her pretty eyes searched behind him in vain. Xin was not with him.

"No, I was about to get her from the Hospital," Gaara replied, still standing in the doorway of the front door. Temari bit her lip and shifted her weight between her feet.

"Kankuro checked the Hospital for her already, she's not there."

It felt like someone had dumped a bucket of cold water over his head. She wasn't there? How could that even be? Where else would she be? If she wasn't at the Hospital, where could she have gone? Temari's eyes darted around as if Xin would simply turn down the road at the moment with a grin across her pink lips. "We figured she must have been with you since we haven't seen her since this morning….."

Her words hung in the air. Despite the fact that she was only dressed in a thin tank top and slightly baggy sleep pants, Temari darted forward to slip her feet into her sandals. "Kankuro!" She shouted into the house, hearing her brother curse as something crashed to the floor. It might have been the flower-vase someone had given to Xin and Gaara as a wedding gift. The little woman was always muttering about it.

"What?!"

"Get out here, we've got a problem! Gaara, wait!"

The Siblings rushed to the Hospital. It was oddly serene but they had been expecting more. They expected to see signs of a struggle somewhere but the Hospital was fine. It was relatively calm for a hospital. Gaara and Kankuro decided to check Xin's office again while Temari continued to eye the lobby. "Oh, Temari-san. How's Xin-san doing?" a kind voice called to her.

Temari turned to look at the front desk. The woman behind the desk wasn't the usual woman, Itsuki, who obviously hated Xin. This one was a little older and filled in for Itsuki every now and then. "The poor woman worked herself into exhaustion and passed out! Good thing Minori-chan was here to see her home. Although I didn't know she had an older brother. And he's quite big too."

"You mean Ukyo?" Temari questioned, the woman could be quite forgetful sometime. The blonde often wondered why she hadn't retired yet.

"Ukyo-chan? No, it was Minori-chan. I may be older, Temari-san, but I can tell the difference between Minori-chan and Ukyo-chan."

Temari frowned. That didn't sound right at all. If Xin had passed out, where the hell was she? And why would Minori come to her aide? If that girl had come across an unconscious Xin, she would have gotten Ukyo or someone else to help Xin out. And since when did Minori have an older brother? She claimed her entire family had been slaughtered.

Temari smiled at the older woman, thanking her for time and wishing her a good night. She casually strolled down the hall but as soon as she got to the staircase, she took off up the stairs. She threw the door open and skidded into the hallway, she could see that Xin's office door was open. "Guys!" She shouted, jogging to the office. Kankuro and Gaara were searching the room. Nothing seemed out of place except the shattered mug and a puddle of liquid on the floor. Before she could tell them of Minori's odd involvement in Xin's vanishing act, she felt something scratch at her leg. "What the hell….Ume!" She glared down at the little furball. "You know better than to scratch people!" She admonished the kitten. Ume ignored Temari's words and dug her claws into her leg. "Ume!"

Ume backed away from Temari and ran down the hall. Temari watched her go, frowning in confusion. "She's acting more strange than usual…" She muttered while still watching the cat. Ume skidded to a halt when she realized Temari hadn't moved. With a low mewl, she turned to the blonde and stared at her. Sighing heavily, she glanced one more time at her brothers before following the kitten. "Whatever this is, it better be good. I'll tell Xin you scratched me once we hunt her down…" Temari growled as Ume trotted further down the hallway. The kitten stopped at a utility closet and scratched at the door.

Temari quirked an eyebrow at the kitten's odd behavior but reached for the knob. Ume scrambled out of the way when Temari opened the door and glanced in.

Ukyo.

"Holy shit," Temari cursed before scrambling into the closet. She grabbed Ukyo, frantically checking for a pulse. "Thank God," she sighed when she felt Ukyo's pulse. "What the hell is going on…" Temari pulled Ukyo out, carrying her with some difficulty back to Xin's office. Ume followed behind, odd eyes focused on Ukyo.

"Temari, we can't find—what the hell?" Kankuro turned just in time to see Temari nearly drag an unconscious Ukyo to the room. He pulled Ukyo away to drape her across the med-bed and leaned over to check for anything wrong.

"Ume…knew where she was.." Temari uttered in confusion as Kankuro lightly slapped Ukyo's cheek. It took a couple more slaps before Ukyo's eyes twitched under her lids. Slowly her eyelids parted to reveal cloudy blue eyes. She suddenly sat up, nearly head butting Kankuro. Gaara grabbed Kankuro and jerked him out of the way.

"Minori!" Ukyo exclaimed loudly. "Where is she!? And that man, where are they?" She demanded almost frantically. Temari quickly caught her by the shoulders before she could go running off.

"Hey, hey! Easy, Ukyo!" She shouted over Ukyo's shrill cries. "You have to calm down and tell us what happened!"

Ukyo's head was throbbing and her mouth felt numb but she felt anger boiling in the pit of her stomach. After all they had done for Minori, they had taken in and cared for her and this was the thanks they got?!

"Are you alright?" Gaara demanded.

"What happened?" Temari squeezed her shoulders.

"I think the important question is how long were you in that closet?" Kankuro piped up. Gaara glared at his older brother and then rolled his eyes. "That's a legitimate question…"

Ukyo shook Temari's hands away. This wasn't the time to be babied and coddled. "It was Minori. Xin-sensei was right about her. She...there was this large man with her. She kept telling me she had to do it and that Sensei had to suffer for what Gaara-sama did…"

"A large man? Did you get a good look at his face?" Gaara inquired. God, he could hear his wife now. _See? Didn't I tell you about her? But do you ever listen? Noooooo._

Ukyo took a pause and rubbed at her forehead. Whoever that man was, he was going to give Xin a run for her money when it came to brute strength. "He was very large with sandy blond hair, like Temari-san's hair. He had this silly grin the entire time and….oh! He had two scars! One cutting down his left eyebrow and one that started from his cheekbone and ended down past his jaw."

Gaara nodded. "Kankuro come with me. We'll search the bingo book. Temari, take Ukyo home and see if Asuna has seen Minori at all today."

Temari nodded, watching as her brothers left the office. She backed off of Ukyo to give her some space to get herself together. She eyed the mess on the floor, crouching down near the liquid. "Knowing Xin...she probably threw the mug at Ukyo's head…." the blonde muttered. She now had pretty good idea of what went down earlier today. "Who knows how far they've gotten with Xin…"

Ukyo slid off the med-bed. "We have to hurry. Sensei's Chakra wasn't fully replenished and she was still suffering from those bruises. Knowing her temper and her brash mouth, she might not last long…"

Temari massages her temples. Things had gone to shit too quickly.

* * *

I'm not sure why I didn't think torture was on the agenda. I guess I just figured that since they were planning to kill me, they would just let me waste in that cell. Christ, I was very wrong. I'd be lying if I said the torture was nothing. My body was already weary and worn and with not enough Chakra, I was completely at their mercy. And ironically, mercy was not in their vocabulary.

There was nothing spectacular about this torture. No closed off room with tools of death hanging around to intimidate me into a begging mess. Just the dirty hallway outside of my holding cell. I gritted my teeth and shifted onto my chest to alleviate the pain radiating from my abused back. Masahiro, Jura and Minori weren't present and that left me to the very brutal treatment at Kyohei and Kenta's hands. And their feet. And a sword. One of them has a katana.

Evil motherfuckers.

I hissed through my teeth when I felt the blade of that damn katana slice across the back of my thighs. My skin opens up obediently and there's blood gushing out faster than I can blink. "Careful, Mikawa, we don't want her to bleed out before her husband gets here…" Kenta calmly reminded the psychopath.

"Then where should I put it, since you know so much."

I twisted a little with a scowl. "Ooooh, I'll show you where to put it you flaming piece of shit…."

"Oh?" Kyohei squatted down to cup my face. He jerked my face up and my neck ached under the strain. "You still got some fight left in you?"

"Is that like a rhetorical question or…."

Kyohei literally punched the smirk right off of my face. I grimaced, blinking hard and hoping that the blood I spat out at him didn't have a tooth mixed in there. Alright, not my brightest idea to goad the sadistic fuck currently torturing me but I couldn't help it. He was just so easy to make fun of. "Easy on her face," Kenta pushed at Kyohei's shoulder. I'm not sure if I should be grateful to the big guy. I mean, if they don't focus on my face, that just leaves the rest of my body to be mutilated. Kyohei scoffed and literally threw my face down. I nearly bit my goddamn tongue off.

Kyohei huffed irritably and suddenly grounded his foot into the wound on the back of my thigh. I gritted my teeth, just feeling the dirt and debris mixing into my wound. He twisted his foot and I hissed at the stinging it caused. "Your husband is taking his time with coming for you. Do you think he'll bother showing up?" Kyohei asked casually.

"Another rhetorical question I see," I grumbled into the filthy ground. Christ, the ground was wet with dirty water and I'm pretty sure my blood was mixed in with it. "For fuck's sake, I'm going to end up bleeding out, Christ, you can't even torture someone right," I scowled into the ground. The pressure of his foot on my bleeding thigh lessened and then he pulled away. I held my breath, knowing good and well that this was not the end. I was right because in the next minute, Kyohei kicked the living shit out of my side.

"Ugh!" I whined and was forced to roll over. I wasn't entirely sure but my ribs might be cracked. Definitely sounded like a crack. I took a steadying breath but didn't feel like anything had been broken or pierced. Meaning it was most likely heavily bruised. Wonderful, just wonderful. I wasn't sure how long they kept this up but by the time they were dragging me back to the cell, there was blood everywhere and there was already more bruises blooming. Kenta literally threw me into the wall of my cell and I hit the ground with a dull thud.

Christ and all twelve, I didn't know what hurt more. There was blood and bruises and dirt and my pride. God, my pride was taking a beating. I was not used to this sort of treatment. Usually I'm the one dishing out the torture.

My wrists were now bound together above my head with thick rope instead of the metal cuffs. I suppose that in this sort of pathetic state, I wasn't a threat. I pulled my arms down from above my head and awkwardly pressed them to the gushing wound in my side. Yep, pretty sure I'm going to end up bleeding out before anyone can figure out where my ass is.

"Fantastic, just fuckin' fantastic," I grumbled into my chest. God, if I get out of this, I'm going to take that damn katana from Kyohei and shove the shit right up his ass.

The door opened again and I didn't bother to look up. If that was the Devil come to drag my soul to Hell, then by all means, take me home. "My, my," Masahiro clucked his tongue. Kay, not the Devil but pretty damn close, I guess. "I told Kyohei to let off some steam, not turn you into a bloody pulp. This isn't as entertaining as I thought it would be."

"For Christ's sake, please shut the fuck up," I grumbled in annoyance. I didn't have the time or the blood flow to deal with Masahiro's whacked out mind out clucked his tongue again and suddenly reached forward to seize me by my hair. I gritted my teeth and wished I just had one hand free to scratch his fuckin' eyeballs out of his face.

"You know, they spoke so much of your foreign beauty," He spoke calmly like he wasn't about to yank my goddamn hair straight out of my scalp. "Skin kissed by starlight, the moon captured in your eyes and the night sky is trapped in your hair…" He told me, sounding oddly poetic. Masahiro let out a dark chuckle. "But to be honest, I just don't see it. You, _beautiful_? Your _beauty _is nothing compared to _hers_…"

"I feel like I might regret asking, but who is this _her _you speak of?" I asked past bloody lips. "I mean, I'm sure I can take a good guess and everything but where's the fun in that? You're obviously going to tell me, right?"

Masahiro threw me down and my forehead cracked loudly against the goddamn floor. Fuck, I'm positive that I'll end up with brain damage or a concussion if I get out of this alive. "Don't speak of _her_!"

"You're the one who brought her up—"

Masahiro kicked me in that gushing wound in my side. I inhaled sharply and rolled away to nurse it in a vain attempt to stop the blood flow. "Her! Her! The love of my life. The most beautiful woman in this shitty world and _your _husband took her from me!"

"Oh, hell…"

Masahiro scowled evilly in my face, almost snarling. "She didn't deserve it. Komari was too good for this world, she was too good and she didn't deserve it. He took my wife, Minori's sister. The only one we had left in this world and your psychotic husband took her from us."

My fingers were twitching erratically against my body. My head was spinning but I did register what was said about Minori. Well, now I knew why she was involved in this horribly cliche plot. "Killing me isn't going to bring Komari back," I managed to say despite my quivering lips. Good God, I might be going into shock. I couldn't really feel anything and I could barely register that I was bleeding so much.

"I know that!" Masahiro hissed. If my brain didn't feel like it was going to melt right out of my ears, I would've rolled my eyes. "Nothing can bring her back and maybe she's better off dead. This shitty world can't get to her. But you know what?"

"I'm pretty sure I know but I'll let you tell me anyway," I replied breathlessly. Wow, the room was spinning like really fast. I think I might throw up.

"_I _can get to _you_. And when your bastard of a husband finally gets his ass here, I'm going to drag you out to him and I'm going to execute you slowly right in front of him. How's that sound?"

"Like a piece of shit plan. I'm going to dance on your fuckin' grave when I get out of here."

Masahiro smiled widely and chuckled, patting my head roughly. "I suppose I should send Jura in here to stop the bleeding. He's the only one willing to come in here to help you, ever since you tried to hurt Minori…."

"I didn't try to hurt her. I was trying to kill her. Different, totally different," I managed to mumble just loud enough for him to hear. Masahiro sneered down at me but found it in him not to kick the living shit out of me. He turned sharply and stormed away without a second word.

"You're a glutton for punishment…" Jura trailed off as soon as he stepped in the cell with me. I blinked owlishly at him, barely comprehending his words. Once I realized what he said, I tried to shrug. He sighed heavily and sat down in front of me. He set off to wrap my wounds, peeling my clothing away to wrap them. He had to pick out of some the debris with his nails and ran water on my wounds from a water bottle I didn't know he had. "Xin…" He trailed off almost sadly. "I didn't want any of this to happen. When Kyo told me…."

"What did he tell you?" I may be slightly delirious but I wasn't incoherent.

His eyes lowered and he carefully lifted me by the shoulders to settle me on his knees. It surprised me but I couldn't really concentrate on that surprise so I just let it happen.

"He told me the truth," Jura mumbled like a child. "I thought that my parents were killed out on a mission," He played with a lock of my hair. Aw, hell, I can already see where this is going. "They died very suddenly and violently, I overhead them talking about it. It was gruesome, knowing how sadistic you are, you would have been proud…"

That statement bothered me. I wouldn't be proud of some shit like that, his parents obviously didn't deserve to die. Why would I be proud of that?

"It was Gaara. He went on some rampage one night, I guess. I remember getting the news because Hatsune and I were looking at the full moon when Kyo and Susu came home," Jura spoke quietly, still idly picking at my hair. And there it was. Gaara's fault, obviously. Christ, I wonder how many deaths he was responsible for when he was younger. "Susu took it pretty well, she stepped up to take care of us. But Kyo...something in him changed and he's been harboring it since then. I...I just wanted to protect my brother, I knew of the consequences when he finally told me everything but...he's my brother, Xin."

I shifted, my side was really killing me. "Doesn't make em' right," I slurred together. "Innocent people died the night of the fire. Should their loved ones come after you because of Kyo's actions? Kidnap you, hold you hostage and torture you?"

"Xin, you have to—"

"Stop with the excuses!" I shouted shrilly, irritating my entire body. "This entire situation is fucked up! You abandoned your village, _your family, _for your psychotic brother's misguided attempt at revenge and for what, Jura? For what? What's it going to do for you?" I demanded. Jura's jaw twitched. "Whatever happens, whether I die or Gaara dies or Kyohei dies, you will not be satisfied."

"Xin, it's too late for me to take back what I did."

"Do you want to?

Jura stared down at me, thumb caressing my skin thoughtlessly. His lips tightened and be blinked, breaking his odd stare. He glanced behind him at the door but saw nothing. With his other hand, he rooted around in his weapons pouch. He shifted, lifting me enough to prop me against his leg. "Drink this, you need something or you'll burn out…" He trailed off softly, holding a water canteen up.

I eyed it warily. "Last time someone tried to give me something to drink, it was poisoned."

"Ah, that's why you tried to choke Minori out, hm?"

"She's going to die, Jura. I'll be damned if I go down and not take her with me…"

He chuckled almost sadly. "I know," He murmured very softly before pressing the canteen to my lips.

It was the best water I'd ever tasted.

* * *

Jura hurried away from Xin's holding cell, his mind racing. Did it really matter what he wanted at this point? She was doing nothing but giving him false hope that things could go differently. He paused, hands tightening into fists. Was she wrong? What made them different from the people who were killed in that fire? Didn't they have the right for revenge?

Xin didn't deserve this, that much he was sure of. Granted, she was a little loopy and psychotic but _this…._what they were doing to her wasn't right. She had nothing to do with his parents' death or Komari's death. She didn't even know any of them that long ago. So why did she have to go through this? Why did he have to go through it? He understood that what happened the night of his parents deaths was not Gaara's fault. He was so young and didn't know how to control the demon sealed inside him. The demon he didn't even want.

"Jura," Kyohei practically melted out of the shadows. Used to Kyohei's quiet footsteps, Jura simply turned to him. He glanced down the hallway Jura had just come from, frowning. "You visited that woman."

"Was it necessary to beat her like that? I know she has a smart mouth but no one deserves that sort of treatment."

_Especially since it's __her. _

Kyohei cracked his neck casually. "Masahiro told me to beat her. It'll get Gaara angry if he ever shows up for her," He shrugged, not really caring of Xin's state. Jura's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"You're _trying _to _kill _her."

"So what? She's going to die anyway, what does it matter?"

Jura jumped forward, grabbing his brother by the front of his shirt to slam him harshly against the wall. He easily towered over his brother, overpowering him as well. Kyohei may have been older but he couldn't match Jura in strength. His strengths were in his speed. "_It matters!" _He snarled into Kyohei's face.

Kyohei stared at his brother, briefly shocked. "You were talking to her, weren't you? I _told _you not to talk to her! She's going to fill your mind with _lies! _Don't you get that? She's not on your side!"

"Are you sure she's the one lying, Kyo? Are you sure?"

Kyohei blinked his murky blue eyes. "Oh, she's gotten to you, I see. What was it? Her eyes? Her lips? Did she smile at you? You realize _she doesn't love you_, don't you?"

Jura faltered only for a second. "I know that," He snapped into Kyohei's face. "It's nothing like that, I don't feel that way for her. She's my...she _was _my best friend."

"_Was. _She isn't anymore, she's the enemy. We're doing this for Mom and Dad. Remember that," Kyohei shoved Jura's hands away. He smoothed the wrinkles out of his shirt and shoved by his younger brother. Jura had to make a choice and he had to make it soon.

* * *

Kenta crouched outside of the cell, forehead pressed to the bars. He watched the prone form locked on the other side.

The woman was tiny and when he first got a good look at her dry heaving on the floor of her office, he hadn't thought much of her. He'd been a little surprised when she shoved her fingers down her throat to expel the poison but he still didn't understand the work they had to go through to get her. And then she kicked the hell out of him out of the caravan. Not only did she kick him out of the caravan, she kicked him with enough force to throw him back half a mile and break his arm.

He rubbed that arm, frowning at the tender feeling. It had been healed but the healer was shabby at best, having only a couple months of training. And even after all of that, she ruined their caravan and used a broken piece of it to injure both him and Kyohei. His opinion, after all of that, had changed severally. If he was being honest, he respected the woman. To manage all that she had with barely any Chakra was something amazing. He could only imagine what she was capable of with her full amount of Chakra.

Kyohei had asked him to watch her for a bit. Apparently she had done something to Jura and the younger Shinobi was acting odd. Kyohei believed his brother was in love with the woman. Not that he could blame him. She was quite pretty. His eyes traced the rounded curve of her hip. And her body was attractive. His eyes found the swell of her breasts, barely restrained now that one of the straps of her tank top had been torn. A slow smirk crossed his lips as his eyes roved over her exposed flesh.

Standing up slowly, he quietly entered the cell. She was going to die, anyway. It would be a shame to waste such an attractive body. Even if it was covered in dried blood and bruises here and there. He crouched over her, watching the steady rise and fall of her chest. He supposed that after the severe beating Kyohei put her through yesterday, she really needed some sleep. He preferred them awake but….

His fingers touched her hand, slowly sliding them up to her shoulder. She didn't shift. He trailed his fingers down to her chest and over her breasts. Xin still didn't move. His fingers grasped at the hem of her shirt very briefly before slipping under the material. He noticed she had an impressive collection of scars but her breasts remained untouched by a blade. That was good, breasts should be soft to touch with no bumps.

He cupped one, thumb pressing into her nipple. He practically grinned when he felt it tighten into a little bud. Kenta shifted to his knees, allowing his other hand to join under her shirt to grip and grasp at her flesh.

Xin finally shifted, groaning at the odd feeling from her chest. She shifted again, lips puckering. "Gaara?" She muttered breathlessly. Kenta glanced at her face, taking note of the glassy look in her eyes. She was unaware of her surroundings. Quietly, he leaned over to embrace her. She made a small whimper of a noise. "Gaara…" She repeated in the same breathy voice. Kenta leaned in, kissing her sloppily. Another whimper but he could feel her trying to return the kiss, deliriously thinking that her husband had finally come for her.

Her bound hands pressed into his chest as he maneuvered her, slipping her legs around his waist. Her back pressed against the wall, causing her to grimace. "Gaara, stop now," She whined, hands weakly pushing at his chest. "It..it hurts, stop. I'm hurt. I can't, I can't," Xin insisted against his lips. She tasted of blood and agony but her lips were soft against his own and let out his own groan against her. Her fingers curled when he pressed her tighter to the wall, gasping in pain. She vaguely felt hands slipping down to her torn skirt, pushing it up her bruised legs.

Xin wriggled in an attempt to get away but only succeeded in weakly grinding her hips against him. Kenta paused, fingers digging into her legs with a bruising force and moaned against her lips. "That's it, that's it," He coached her as she wriggled again.

"Gaara, I…." Xin suddenly stilled, eyes going wide as she leaned away. "You...you're not...Gaara. Where's...where's Gaara?" Xin's nails dug into his shirt.

"Doesn't matter, he ain't here," He pointed out with a voice full of lust. "I can be him for you. It'll be fun, I promise. Does he fuck you rough? Do you want it rough, Princess? I can give it to you better than him."

Xin's face twisted and she leaned into his shoulder to brutally bite his flesh. Shouting in surprise and pain, he jumped away from her. "You fuckin' cunt!" He growled down at her, wrapping his large hand around her throat. He lifted her only to harshly slam her into the wall. Xin gasped, hands coming to weakly claw at his wrist. She only saw a flash of something before fingers curled around Kenta's shoulder. He was suddenly jerked back and Xin dropped to the floor in a heap, squeaking in pain when she landed awkwardly.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Jura demanded angrily. He looked at Xin for a quick second before rounding on Kenta.

"Boss said to keep an eye on her," Kenta grinned despite the pain in his shoulder from hitting the bars. Perhaps Jura was stronger than he gave him credit for.

"That looked like a lot more than keeping an eye on her," the brunet sneered. "I don't give a fuck what Masahiro says, stay the fuck away from her."

Kenta's smile turned into a playful pout. "Don't be like that Mikawa, if you wanted to have some fun with her, all you had to do was say so. I'm not one for sloppy seconds but you have known her longer…."

Jura came at him with a kunai, resting the sharpened blade against the bigger man's throat. "I'll fuckin' kill you!"

Kenta's smile slid off of his mouth before it returned accompanied with a booming laugh. "So you are in love with her! Your brother was right, huh? Well, isn't that so cute. But kind of sad at the same time. After all, she is _happily married_. The only person she can think of right now is Gaara, did you know that?" Kenta practically squealed in glee.

Jura punched Kenta in the face. He smirked smugly when something in his nose cracked. "You should probably get that looked at," He stated smoothly as Kenta recovered. The large man glared viciously at Jura, not finding anything amusing about his broken nose. Instead of fighting, he turned briskly and hurried away. Jura watched him go, clearly exasperated. He rubbed the back of his neck and then turned, frowning when he noticed Xin hadn't moved.

He knelt down next to her, checking for a pulse. It was there but it didn't sound right. He cursed quietly. "Xin, oi, Xinny, you with me?" He asked while sliding his arm under her shoulders. Her eyes were opened half way but she didn't move that much. "Come on, honey, stay with me. Follow my fingers. Do you see?" Jura held up his fingers, waving them in front of her eyes.

Xin opened her eyes a bit and followed the flow of his fingers very sluggishly. Jura cursed and sat her up a little bit more to check the back of her head. His fingers came back bloody and let out a string of curses. He set her down as gently as he could and yanked his shirt off. "Come on honey, sit up. That's it, atta girl," Jura smiled reassuringly and helped her sit back up.

"Count with me, okay?" He waited until she slowly nodded and pressed his balled up shirt against the back of her head. "One, two, three, four…." He started to count. Xin counted along with him and he felt the tightness in his chest loosen. "Good, count backwards now. Twenty, nineteen, eighteen…." They counted and he made her do math equations until the bleeding had stopped. He was able to search the back of her head for the wound and reassured her it wasn't as deep as they feared. "Christ, Xin, what did you do to him?"

Xin weakly glared at him. "I bit him in self defense. I can't exactly choke his big ass or even punch him," She held up her hands, wriggling only her fingers.

"Why did you need to bite him…?"

"Didn't you hear him? He was trying to have 'fun' with me."

"So you were coherent…"

"...I was…"

Jura slowly nodded, wondering how she felt about Kenta's accusations of being in love with her. That oaf was right, she was married so even if he was in love with her, it didn't mean anything to her. "Jura," Xin's nails weakly scraped against his hand. "Thank you but you can't keep helping me like this. It'll….it'll…."

"Hurt more when you try to kill me?"

"..."

"Do you still want to kill me?"

Xin said nothing, hazy eyes finding the ceiling. "I just want to go home," She uttered softly. "I want to see my family and friends."

"We're some miles from Konoha, if you make it out of here, will you go there?" He asked, wondering if she regretted her choice in coming to Suna. If she had stayed in Konoha, he doubted she would be in this mess.

"I'll go to Suna," She answered. She gave him a funny look. "Suna is my home," Xin stated firmly. He took silent notice that she didn't answer his first two questions. Perhaps that was for the best. Jura climbed to his feet. Xin only glanced at him briefly as he slowly walked away. Deep down, he was hoping she'd say something to stop him from walking away from her.

"Goodbye, Jura."

* * *

Xin supposed a couple of days had gone by since she last saw Jura. Or anyone, for that matter. She thought that was pretty strange. Perhaps they figured that she would just die if they left her alone. She figured that with her injuries, she had a day or two before she succumbed to them. It was odd to think so calmly of her death. She always thought she would go out with a bang, in the middle of a great battle or something. Not locked away in a dirty cell.

Perhaps her karma had finally caught up with her. After living the last couple of years so wickedly, she supposed the Gods were getting back at her with such a pathetic death. She took a deep breath, wondering what Gaara was up to. Was he worried for her? Did he send someone to get her? Did he even realize she was gone? Xin bit her bottom lip. When was the last time she saw him? Oh, that's right. The day after the fire when he followed her out of his meeting. She shifted, lifting dirty fingers to her lips. She could still taste his lips. His scent...his touch. God, she missed him so much. Her eyes began to burn, that would be the last time she shared anything with him.

She thought of all the time spent together with him. About how much they use to bicker relentlessly with vicious acid laced into their words. All the shouting and the anger. And while they still bantered, something between them had changed overtime. She could honestly say she didn't hate him, she couldn't. Xin took a shuddering breath and balled up into a tight ball. At least she could be with Lena and the girls soon.

The door opened followed by the iron door. "Xin?" Jura whispered quietly while approaching the small woman. She cracked one eye open and then closed it. She was not in the mood to talk. "Come on honey, we have to go. Come on, sit up. I got you, let's go," Jura worked his hands under her to carefully shift her into his arms. Xin blinked owlishly at him. What in the fuck was this idiot doing? Where were they going and was Masahiro aware of this?

"Jura?" Xin croaked, throat burning. "Is…" She trailed off in confusion when he stopped at a dead end. God, she was so confused. She listened for anything suspicious going on but everything was silent.

"Alright, honey, over my shoulder. Come on, I know it's uncomfortable but I need to use my hands. C'mon, up we go," Jura coaxed Xin over his shoulder, feeling a little guilty when she inhaled sharply. He jumped up, catching the window sill. With a flex of his arms, he pulled them both up to the window. He grunted, crawling out of the window and into the night.

Looking around, he saw no one and held up his fist. Chakra lit up around his fist and without a warning, he jumped off the side of the mountain. Xin gasped at the sudden movement, wishing her hands were free to cling onto the back of his shirt. Jura slammed his fist into the mountain and slowed their descent down. They slid down the mountain, Xin's messy hair whipping around her face. "Jura! What is going on?" She demanded over the wind. Jura only patted at her waist.

Jura's feet hit the ground with a hard thud, jostling Xin. "Alright! That worked better than I thought it would," He grinned wildly, pumping his unoccupied hand in the air.

"Jura, I swear to God, I'm going to break something in you if you keep jumping like this. My ribs, goddammit, my ribs," Xin threatened from over his shoulder. Jura stopped jumping immediately, grimacing out a quick apology.

"We're almost there," He mumbled as he fixed her into his arms. She frowned, quietly wondering where 'there' was. Perhaps to Konoha? But why would Jura be sneaking her to Konoha? She shifted in his arms, hissing when the ropes around her wrists began to chaff even deeper into her flesh. While Jura flitted through the trees, Xin eyed her wrists. If the ropes weren't removed soon, it would begin to fuse with her skin.

Jura jerked to a sudden stop high up on a tree branch. Xin blinked, looking around but saw nothing out of sorts. If this was some elaborate scheme of Masahiro's to lure her into a false sense of security only to execute her at the gates of Konoha or whatever, she wished they would just get it over with. With practiced ease, he jumped down. Once he had solid footing, he slowly let Xin down. He kept a firm arm around her waist and balanced most of her weight as she leaned against him. She looked up at him slowly, eyebrow quirked.

"Jura, are you going to tell me what's going on? What, is this like a surprise assassination?"

The tall brunet let out a dry laugh. "No, it's a recovery."

"Recovery? What's being recovered?"

"You."

"Xin!" a chorus of voices cut her off before she could ask what the hell Jura was talking about. She had to squint a little but a smile pulled at her lips when she caught sight of Ukyo, Temari and Kankuro flinging themselves towards the two.

The crowded around them, all talking at once. "Guys, guys! Calm down," Jura shouted over the jumble of their voices. "She needs medical attention. Ukyo, can you take care of her?"

Ukyo's joyful expression turned stony and she nodded. "Lay her down. Do you know which wounds are life threatening?" She asked, hands digging into her medical pouch.

"Yes," Jura nodded and squatted down. "Temari-san, can you hold her up? There's an abrasion on the back of her head," He informed the oldest Sand Sibling. Temari eyed him for a good minute before sinking down to prop Xin up. Jura listed off all of the wounds Xin was suffering from, making sure to point out her bound wrists. Ukyo nodded along to his words, hands hovering carefully over each wound to properly healing them.

"Her ribs are bruised," She murmured while pressing on Xin's side. The Konoha native inhaled sharply and tried to roll away from Ukyo's hands. "Temari-san, talk to her."

Temari nodded firmly, looking down into Xin's ashen face. "Xin, what day did you get married on? Do you remember the date?"

"...Yes. It was the thirteenth. Of June. It was June thirteenth," Xin licked her dry lips, watching slowly as Kankuro pulled Jura away. "At the Desert Hall. My Father walked me down the aisle, I was surprised. I didn't think anyone from Konoha would attend."

"Why is that?" Temari inquired softly.

"Because I've never belonged. I never belonged in Konoha. I belonged _to _Konoha. But never with or in Konoha. I thought my parents wouldn't bother to contact me at all once I finally got married. I'm not a Hyuga clan member anymore. I'm just the Kazekage's wife."

Ukyo glanced at the two momentarily, eyebrows knitted together. Temari only shook her hand, motioning her to continue. "Don't be silly Xin. You'll always be a member of the Hyuga clan. They know that. I spoke to your Mother for just a bit but she spoke highly of you. She told me you two never had the best relationship and she worries about your lifestyle but she's proud of you."

Xin blinked sluggishly. She was getting tired and Ukyo's warm chakra was soothing to her. "Mama said that?" She asked in a breathy voice.

"She did," Temari confirmed with a soft smile. "Xin? Are you sleepy? Don't go to sleep yet. Stay awake just for a little bit. Tell me one of your favorite things."

Xin took a deep breath, trying to fight off the sleep. "Um...oh, Gaara's eyes. His eyes are my favorite. They're so...pretty. They're like...the sky. They'll swallow me up like the endless sky. Your eyes are pretty too but Gaara's….his are my favorite."

"Really…." Temari smiled almost like a cat. "What else do you like about Gaara?" She asked in a low tone. Xin shifted in her grasp but didn't try to roll away from Ukyo's hands again.

"I like his kindness. He's nice to me even though I give him a hard time. I mean, sometimes he's a little mean but that's only when I'm being a real bitch to him. Sometimes I wonder why he puts up with me. And...oh! His lips, wow, he has nice lips. Very nice. I thought about them a lot. Well, about _him. _I thought about him a lot."

"He thought about you a lot too. We couldn't get him to calm down once we pieced together what happened to you. I was afraid he would unleash the Shukaku on the village."

"The Shukaku likes me."

"That explains a lot," Temari chuckled softly. "He wanted to come on this mission but the village…"

"Suna needed him more."

Temari nodded thoughtlessly. "Gaara didn't think you would think that. He kept saying that you were going to throw a tantrum if he didn't come get you. But you've always understood that sometimes our jobs come first."

"I do," Xin tried to nod. "I miss him. I missed you guys. I'm so glad to see you, wow, you're pretty. Has anyone ever told you how pretty you are, Temari? Does Shikamaru tell you that?" Xin started to ramble on almost bubbly. Ukyo paused, glancing at Xin with a soft frown.

"Kankuro-sensei, can you hold her hands?" Ukyo suddenly asked. "I need to cut her bindings but her hands aren't steady," She flagged Kankuro over. He looked over to the small gaggle of women and nodded. He gave a hard pat to Jura's back before joining them on the ground. Kankuro studied her bloody wrists, trying not to cringe at the sight of the rope tearing into bloodied flesh. He grabbed her hands, trying to be firm yet gentle at the same time. They had to guess that her wrists were bothering her the most because as soon as he got a good grip on her hands, she passed out.

"It's fine, it's fine," Ukyo said hurriedly, easily slicing through the worn ropes with her Chakra scalpel. "She was going to pass out eventually, she has no Chakra. I healed the most life threatening wounds so she should be fine."

"We have a week's worth of traveling ahead of us. Do you think she'll wake up during that time?" Kankuro asked, watching Xin's face. Her face was mostly unscathed except for the bruise near her mouth. She did have a new scar near her hairline though. "Gaara is not going to like this."

"Perhaps we should get her to the Hospital and then tell him we've retrieved her?" Temari offered. "We also need to warn him about Jura…"

Kankuro made a face, knowing that coming back with Jura in tow was going to cause some problems. Ukyo suddenly shook her head as the glowing of her hands died down. "That's not what's important right now. We have to get her back to Suna to get her ribs checked properly. And these bruises...the head medic could probably take care of them…"

"Alright. Jura, let's go. Ukyo took care of Xin to the best of her abilities but we've got to get her back to Suna."

"You don't think Konoha would be closer?"

"It is but I think it's better to take her back immediately. Stopping in Konoha would put us way behind and I don't think Gaara would be too keen to the idea of any delays," Kankuro shifted to gather Xin in his arms. "She feels a little too light. Was she being starved?" He glanced at Jura, frowning at the thought that Xin had been ruthlessly tortured and Jura had been there the entire time.

Jura avoided Kankuro's gaze, rubbing the back of his neck. "She was," He answered after a moment's pause. He could just feel their gazes weighing down on him. But, he supposed, he deserved their scorn.

Kankuro sighed heavily, already dreading their return. Gaara was going to be absolutely _livid _at the sight of Jura. Hopefully they could explain Jura's role in Xin's rescue before Gaara could choke him to death. "Alright," He sighed for the second time. "We got what we came for. There's no need for a battle so let's move out."

* * *

The first thing Xin realized before opening her eyes was that she wasn't in any kind of pain. _"Odd," _She thought with a mental frown. _"My wrists and ribs should be bothering me the most. But I don't feel_—_Oh my God, did I die?!" _

_Open your eyes stupid._

She did just that, eyes popping open without a problem. "Oh," She sighed in slight relief as the bright lights nearly blinded her. "I suppose this is better than being dead," She mused while searching the room. She glanced down at the IV in her arm with a thoughtful frown. Shifting, she pressed her hand against the ribs she knew had been bruised. Only a dull throb resonated from her side. That had her smiling. The majority of her bruises had been healing to the point of nearly fading.

Xin sat up despite her body protesting it. Her wounds were taken care of but that didn't mean her body was completely back at one hundred percent. Being the stubborn woman that she was, she fully sat up and yanked the IV out of her arm with a hiss. She paused to momentarily dab at her arm with the blanket. Once she was satisfied, she got out of the bed and approached the window. It was late in the evening with the moon reigning supreme in the sky. She smiled at the sight of it. "See me home safely, old friend," She whispered to the moon before quietly opening the window.

Her Chakra levels still weren't up to par like she preferred but it would be enough to sneak herself out of the Hospital. It took some time and more effort than she liked but she successfully scaled the side of the Hospital without hurting herself or getting caught. She thought of going to the Tower but thought better of it. All she wanted was to take a warm shower and be in her bed. Silent as the night, Xin snuck through the slumbering village. A small smile light up her face as she came upon the house.

Xin opened the door slowly, glancing down to see if anyone was home. To her surprise, no one was home. "They must be at the Tower," Xin muttered, suddenly realizing she didn't have any sandals on. "Huh, didn't even notice I was barefoot…."

Xin wandered carelessly through the house, not caring if she bumped into something or knocked something over. The relief flooding through her body surprised her. She would have never thought that she'd be happy to be back in Suna once more. She took an obnoxiously long time in the shower, scrubbing her body almost raw. She wrestled with the tangled knots and snarls that was her hair, nearly snapping her brush in half. It felt like she practically yanked all of her hair out.

Shaking her head and massaging her sore scalp, she made the short trek to her bedroom. A small smile light up her face when she flicked the lights on. She could just smell her signature scent intermingling with Gaara's scent and that made her smile even wider. Something about that greatly pleased her.

Xin banished her weird thoughts away and hurried to the wardrobe, rifling through the slight mess _(God, she was going to smack the hell out of whoever did the laundry while she was gone)_ to find something to sleep in. Finally she settled on a pair of shorts and one of Gaara's shirts. His shirt engulfed her, almost resembling a dress but Xin liked it. It was comfortable and it smelled like him.

Xin casually pulled the the shirt up to her nose, humming in content as his scent completely flooded her sense of smell. It would probably look strange if someone were to walk in on her sniffing her shirt but at the moment, she just couldn't care.

As she was getting ready to climb in the bed, something on the desk caught her eye. She turned to it, approaching it with a frown. It was a simple binder, thick and white. Tilting her head to the side, she studied the front. It took her a minute to realize the picture of the couple on the front of the binder was actually her and Gaara.

"Oh," She puckered her lips in amusement, running her fingers over the binder. "It's from our wedding. I'm surprised she didn't put the kiss on the front," Xin mused. Although she liked the picture on the front, it was probably the only picture she was caught smiling in. Gaara's smile was only a slight tug of the lips and Xin had to give the photographer_ (whose name currently escaped her)_ props for capturing the photo without them noticing.

Xin slid down into the chair, interest completely taken over by the pictures. The first couple of pictures were taken of her and Hiashi coming down the aisle. She was surprised at how serene she looked, she'd been nervous as all hell coming down that aisle. She squealed with laughter at the picture of her messing up Gaara's perfectly combed hair. That might have been her favorite. She was shocked that she didn't immediately come across their kiss but shrugged it off and continued through the binder.

Of course the majority of Xin's pictures, she was making silly faces but there was a couple where she was simply laughing or looking off at something not in the picture. There was some of Gaara looking as happy as he could look without actually smiling and there was a rare photo or two of him chuckling at something with Naruto.

There was a photo captured of her along with her sisters, her parents and the Uchihas. She couldn't recall the topic of conversation but she liked the photo. They all looked happy or amused or pleased. No one looked miserable and that made her smile softly. There was more photos of her with her friends, of her friends dancing with one another. There was even a picture of Temari dancing with Baki and Xin dancing with Hiashi. She continued to flip through the binder until she finally came to the last page.

A picture of their first kiss as Husband and Wife. She chuckled at that, rubbing her fingers over the picture like she had done to the first. "A perfect ending—eh?"

The bedroom door suddenly swung open and Xin jumped to her feet, hands slipping under the desk to the kunai strapped to the underside. She twisted around, ready to stab a motherfucker because Hell if she's getting kidnapped _again_ only to pause. Gaara stared at her blankly from the doorway, hand gripping the doorknob with an almost crushing force.

"..Hi honey…" She smiled nervously. Out of all the nicknames she often threw his way, 'honey' seemed to bother him the least. Then again, most of the nicknames were said to specifically annoy him. Gaara moved with speed she didn't know he had and she instantly dropped the kunai in slight fear. He looked as if he was going to slap the living hell out of her. And maybe he should. What person in their right mind would _escape _from the _Hospital_?

Uh, this girl, obviously.

Xin readied for the slap but let out a squeal of surprise when he jerked her smaller body against his. His arms slung around her back before tightening almost painfully. Her face pressed into his chest and she pulled away to take a deep breath. "Ah, Gaara, too tight, too tight," She managed to wheeze out around a mouthful of his shirt. His grip around her lessened and then completely vanished. She started to whine at the lack of heat only to pucker her lips in confusion when his large hands engulfed her face.

Gaara studied her face, noticing a scar peeking out from under her bangs that hadn't been there before. There was a rapidly fading bruise near her mouth. More faded bruises littered her body, some he recognized from her spar with Ukyo and fight with Jura. Others were completely new. She was a mess of fading bruises and newly healed scars.

The Shukaku began to stir.

"Oi," Xin tapped at his hand and he noticed how shaky she was. Did she think he was going to hurt her? After all she had just gone through, she really thought he would hurt her?

The Shukaku growled.

"I'm sorry for leaving the hospital. I just..I wanted to come home," Xin paused in her apology, lips rolling together. "I didn't want to bother anyone, I figured I'd just come home to sleep and then deal with a scolding in the morning…"

Gaara huffed irritably but his thumbs caressed her cheekbones. "What a troublesome woman," He muttered in bemusement. Xin smiled slowly, convinced that Gaara wasn't going to go AWOL on her.

"I'm sorry...I'm just...I'm sorry."

"For?" He asked quietly, leaning his forehead against hers. It honestly surprised him that he felt so relieved once she was finally in his sight. Where she belonged.

"I don't know, I'm sorry that out of all the women Konoha could have given you, they gave me."

Gaara shrugged, thumbs still caressing her cheekbones. "I'm glad they gave you to me," He uttered simply. She pulled back a little, allowing his hands to slip away to stare vividly into his eyes. She blinked rapidly, puckering her lips in muted thought. He was being weird again. Or maybe she was the one being weird. After all this time, after all the time she spent craving him while away, she really thought he was being weird?

He was just being truthful. Maybe it was time for her to be truthful as well. "I'm glad that you're glad. I'm glad too," She admitted softly. While it's not exactly what she really wanted to say, she was satisfied with the happy glow in his pretty eyes. A smile graced her face and she threw her arms around his neck, teetering against his chest on the tips of her toes. Gaara could feel the smile across her face through the material of his shirt. He figured Xin would be more temperamental when she finally woke up, throwing a temper tantrum complete with screaming, curses and maybe even a punch or two.

He was not expecting smiles and hugs and even apologies. True, in the beginning, he resented Konoha for tricking him into taking this psychotic woman. Suna wanted a woman who would accept his past, not outdo it. But with her sudden disappearance during the past two, almost three weeks, he realized that his resentment for her had turned into something much more fond.

Was it love? He entertained the idea of it, knowing whatever he felt for the woman was strong. It was just hard to name. He figured he was growing affections for the woman long before they'd gotten married and only confirmed it during their honeymoon.

Love was a hard thing to describe, especially since he never experienced such a complicated emotion. But there was something burning in his chest and he was sure it had everything to do with Xin. The burning had become almost unbearable during her sudden absence but now that she was back, it has dulled into a more pleasant warmth. He supposed that could be love and that's what made it so complicated.

Gaara felt Xin's grip around his neck shift and he felt most of her weight against him as she strained on the very tips of her toes. He supported her weight, lowering his arms around her to alleviate the strain. Her face was a mix of frustration and humor, if that was possible. Finally, she kissed him. Although it only reached the corner of his mouth due to her short stature. She huffed at that with the same odd mix of frustration and humor. "Gaara, I'm _trying_ to be a wife here. Could you help me out and lean down a little?"

He wanted to laugh because of course Xin could turn a sweet gesture into a demand. But he abided easily to her whim, bending so that she could actually kiss him properly. Like their previous embraces, it was gentle and chaste, leaving much to be desired. But Xin was exhausted and didn't have it in her for their usual aggressive romps. And she had the oddest feeling of foreign lips kissing her but she brushed that to the back of her crowded mind. She didn't have time for that. She was just glad to be back. She was glad to see Gaara.

He looked a little perplexed by her sudden display of affection but chose not to comment on it. Perhaps it was the medication the medics had pumped into her to ease her pain that was making her so lax. They would discuss their behavior later.

"Come to bed with me."

* * *

_Xin's P.O.V_

When I woke up late into the afternoon the next day, I was alone. Not that I was surprised. Disappointed maybe but not surprised. It's not like I married a regular Shinobi. Gaara was the Kazekage and even if I needed him, Suna needed him more. With a heavy sigh that rattled my shoulders, I forced myself out of bed. Just because I had been kidnapped , tortured and possibly sexually assaulted (_my memory is a little foggy on that_) did not mean I could just mope about in bed all day. Life had to go on, with or without me. And I'd be damned if life left me behind.

I showered and pulled an old dress with kimono-like sleeves from the closet. I noticed in bemusement that it bore the Hyuga crest of the shoulder. An old dress that I hadn't worn since who knows when. I slipped into it, smiling softly at how it fit. It was nice. It was familiar. I skipped breakfast (_or lunch_?) since I didn't have much of an appetite. That was a surprise because it wasn't a secret that I was always hungry and craving something to eat. However, I didn't have time to mull over that as I slid my sandals on and stepped out into the burning sun.

The sun was positively unforgiving to me and it had me wishing that the moon was out instead. It was probably trying to force me back into the house to get some more rest. I snorted at that, hand on my hip. My Chakra wasn't where it was at but I was getting sick of just laying around. Mentally flipping the sun off, I made my way to the Hospital. I was going to avoid going to the Tower today. I'm pretty sure that if Gaara or his siblings caught me, they'd drag my ass back home.

"Oh! My Lady!" the plump lady behind the desk clapped her hands together the minute I walked into the Hospital. "How are you? It was a shock to my system when you suddenly collapsed like you did. You overwork yourself too much," She babbled a mile per minute while I leaned against the front desk with a wry smile and listened. She patted and prodded at me much like a Grandmother would do. Why I allowed the contact was beyond me but I didn't hate it. She patted at my cheeks, cupping my face. "My, it's always hard to tell whether you're sickly or not based on your complexion," She muttered, peering into my face. "Is that a bruise?" She thumbed the bruise near my mouth.

"Mm, I was being a little stubborn and took a fall. Gaara was furious," I lied easily as the old lady tutted in disapproval.

"You're a stubborn girl. It seems you are used to taking care of others. Take more care of yourself, understand?"

I was little surprised by the firmness that leaked into her voice. In a sense, I suppose she reminded me of my grandmother. Small but firm. Although she lacked my Grandmother's cranky attitude. "I understand, thank you for the concern."

I left her with a kind smile, making my way up to my office. It was cleaned, the remnants of my struggle swept away as if it never happened. Collapsing in the chair, I took a deep breath. I made sure to lower my Chakra enough so that no one would realize I was hiding out here for the time being. Although I'm sure that when Temari or Kankuro stop by the house to check on me, they'll be raiding the village trying to find me.

Although now that I was here, I realized I had nothing to do. Someone had taken over my work while I was gone and that left me with nothing to catch up on. Huffing, I got up and started to search my office for all the hidden weapons I kept around. I collected the weapons and rearranged them in different spots, making sure the majority were within reach if something were to go down.

And no, I wasn't just being paranoid for once. From what I could remember because last time I checked, I did have my face slammed into the ground, Jura had aided in my escape. After all Masahiro had gone through to drag me out to East Bubba fuck, I'm pretty sure just giving me back to Suna was not going to bode well with the psycho and his band of morons.

And speaking of morons, what did this mean for Jura and Kyohei? My blood ran cold at the thought of Jura. I couldn't give two flying fucks about Kyohei's eventual punishment but I had to know what was going on with Jura. I hadn't even seen him yet. Getting up, I hurried out of the Hospital. The plump little lady asked where I was in such a hurry to on my way out but relented when I told her where I was heading.

I threw the doors open to the office without knocking. Gaara only glanced up at me, looking as if I lost my mind. "What the fuck are you doing here? You're supposed to be resting," Gaara almost growled, getting up to meet me at the door. He caught me by the shoulders and forced towards the the desk. I opened my mouth but he practically wrestled me into the chair. "Sit your ass down and stay there."

I glared at him for his words, waving his hands away. "Gaara, I'm fine, I promise," I huffed irritably. God, I hated when people fretted over me. Honestly, people were out there dying and everyone was having a shitshow just because I got knocked around a bit. "Listen, listen, Christ, would you stop that? _I'm fine!" _

Gaara fixed me with a look of death. "If you just stayed home like you were supposed to, I wouldn't have to stop anything!" He snapped back at me, hand clenching at the back of the chair. My lips pinched and I sank into the chair, suddenly feeling like a scolded child. I rolled my tongue around the inside of my mouth, losing my nerve. Gaara noticed my sudden shift in mood and I felt his grip on the chair loosen just a smidgen. "I didn't mean to yell," He muttered abruptly.

That kind of surprised me and I'm sure it was obvious by my eyebrows shooting up past my choppy bangs. God, I needed a haircut. I pushed at my bangs, wishing I had bothered to pin them back when I got out of bed this afternoon.

"You vanished so suddenly," Gaara said out of nowhere. He had a funny look in his eyes. "You've got that awful habit of wandering around so we thought nothing of it. I was just going to drag you back home, kicking and screaming. We couldn't find you, _I couldn't find you," _Gaara was speaking so quietly that I had to strain just to hear him. He reminded me of a bashful kid admitting to an older woman of the crush he had on her. "If Ume hadn't found Ukyo, I'm not sure if we would have ever found you."

"Ume _found _Ukyo? My cat, Ume?" I asked, wondering if Gaara had finally lost his mind. He wasn't confusing Ume with Ukyo, was he?

"Yes, that weird furball led Temari to the closet Ukyo had been locked in. Apparently Minori and her companion attacked her and locked her in a closet down the hall."

I grinned widely at that, pleased that my weird cat had been so helpful. "Where's Ume? I haven't seen her at all," I pointed out with a small pout. I expected the cat to be right under my feet after I returned. I had yet to see my furball.

"My office," Gaara answered with a dry tone. "She won't leave, I don't think she knows you're back yet," He continued with a twitch of his lips. I cooed at the information, missing my little weird furball.

"Gaara," I squared my shoulders, remembering why I had rushed over here in the first place. "What's going to happen to Jura?" I asked, my grin vanishing. Gaara only looked back at me, his face a sudden blank slate. I did not like that expression.

"Have you ever dealt with runaway Shinobi?" He asked simply. My heart twisted painfully. That was a stupid question to ask and he knew it. I knew it, we all knew it but by judging the look on his face, he still wanted an actual answer. Begrudgingly, I muttered a quick yes. "Baki informed me that he spoke to you regarding these certain circumstances."

"He did."

"Then why are you questioning this right now if you already know what's going to happen?"

"Because I don't want it to happen, obviously."

"Xin...you said—"

"I know what I said, Gaara. I've said a lot of shit before, doesn't mean I still mean it now," I pointed out hotly. "What Jura did was wrong, I know that, he knows that. But doesn't aiding in my rescue mean anything at all?" my fingers were drumming against the desktop in quick motions.

"It means he made a terrible mistake in the first place and consequences have to be followed."

"But death? Is that really necessary?"

"You're actually questioning bloodshed?"

I gritted my teeth, fed up with everyone's attitude towards my lack of excitement for death. I shot up to my feet, head spinning by the motion but stood firmly. "It's unnecessary!" I snapped with a hot face. "I'm _trying _to be a better person for you, Gaara. Remember how we talked about that shred of goodness buried under all my insanity? It's there, dammit, and you know what it's telling me? It's telling me that whatever you and your stupid council have planned for Jura is wrong, you hear me? _Wrong. _And I will not stand for it!" I whacked the desk to further my point.

"I've done a lot of dark shit for Konoha," I uttered quietly. "A lot of people died for Konoha and some of them didn't deserve it. You were different before you became the Kazekage, you weren't in the right state of mind when you were mindlessly killing people. But I was," I reached forward to grab his hand. "Killing someone who doesn't deserve it...you're going to carry that weight for the rest of your life. It's not a nice weight either, let me tell you," I chuckled softly but it sounded dead to my ears. "Just, hear him out first, okay? Jura is a good person and just made a mistake. I hardly think he deserves to die."

Gaara stared into my face, his face going back to that blank slate. I stared back, chewing my lower lip. Maybe it was selfish of me to ask him to do something like this. After all, I told Jura several times that I'd personally kill him for his mistakes. But….how many times should I have been killed for my mistakes? Or Gaara. What made us so different from Jura? Why did we deserve a second chance and he did not?

Gaara drew in a long breath and closed his eyes. "Of all times to finally grow a conscious," He grumbled in obvious irritation. My teeth chewed a little too hard at my lip, nearly causing it to bleed. He shook his head and I noticed his hair was getting a little shaggy. His eyes popped open and he went for my face, thumbing my bottom lip in order to get me to stop chewing on it. "What did they do to you?"

I suppose no one really knew what went on while I was gone. Unless Jura told them but for some reason, I had a feeling the big moron hadn't breathed a word of it.

"Isn't it obvious?" I spoke around his thumb. "Torture," I shrugged blandly. It's not like it was anything grand, it was just torture. "I think Ukyo might have taken care of me but I was bleeding everywhere. And I think I had a minor concussion, had my face slammed into the floor. More so my fault than it being torture, can't control my mouth."

"Even in hostage situations," He points out with that same dry tone but I noticed his shoulders settling into a stiff position. I quirked an eyebrow at that.

"I've been through worse," I stated in a matter of fact tone. I don't think it makes anything better but it is true. "Might be missing a tooth, got punched in the mouth pretty hard," I muttered thoughtlessly. I hadn't checked for any missing teeth but I'm pretty sure there's a empty spot in my mouth I just keep ignoring. He drew in another deep breath to calm himself. "It….I'm okay, Gaara," I said after a long pause. Truthfully I was not. I wasn't sure what it was but something was pressing down on the edge of my mind, waiting for me to blink too long. There's phantom hands roaming over my torso and sloppy lips prodding at my mouth.

Gaara was staring intently into my face, eyes searching for something that wasn't there. His hand dropped from my lip, falling around my waist. He tugged me closer, leaning down to bury his face into my shoulder. I blinked rapidly, hands hovering over his back. My fingers twitched, clearly showing how unsure I was of his sudden affections. "Everything is better now," I whispered as he snuggled deeper into my shoulder. It was a lie, nothing was better. Everything had gone to complete shit in the matter of weeks. Revenge, betrayal and anger blinding almost all of us.

My hands pressed into his back and I shifted more comfortably in his arms. Gaara mumbled something but I couldn't hear it with his mouth pressed into my shoulder. His grip was a little too tight, like he feared I would vanish if his grip weakened even just a bit. I repeat that everything is better and that I'm here and I won't leave him. And I won't. I'm not going to leave him. Not now or ever. I thought I wanted to hate him, to leave him, to _kill _him. But it was quite the opposite now. All I wanted now was to be near him, to kiss him, to be _with_ him.

He let up on my shoulder a little, lips brushing against skin where my collar fell away. "I missed you, Xin," He said finally with no look of embarrassment. I blushed, wondering if I had it in me to say something like that. I did miss him while I was gone. But the thought of telling him that made me roll my lips nervously. Instead of answering, I smiled softly. I missed him so much and I hoped he could see it in my eyes. He leaned away, slipping out of my arms to perch at the edge of his desk. I followed like a lost child, craving just the feel of him. My arms slid over his shoulders, fingers twining together.

And with his lips pressed gently to mine and arms wrapped protectively around my waist, everything did feel okay.

* * *

TeeBeMe: So hopefully Jura redeemed himself, you guys were piiiiiiiissed about what he did lol. Well, some of you called it early on but still. Fun fact, when I first started this story, Jura was actually supposed to be Kyohei. But then I decided I liked him too much and that's where Kyohei came from. And why do I like to beat the shit out of my heroines so much? What's wrong with me, I love my babies, I do. I think it's kind of funny that even in hostile situations, Xin still talks shit. She just can't help it. Usually I would hope that you guys enjoyed the chapter but seeing as how Xin was tortured this entire chapter...er...I hope you guys review!


	21. Here to wreak havoc

I could probably get into a lot of trouble for this. Ah, you know what? Scratch that, I will get into a lot of trouble for this. Did that thought stop me? Course not. Does anything ever stop me? Nope and nothing ever will. Okay, well, maybe except Gaara catching me in one of his freaky sand coffins but who could blame him?

I shifted and slid down the dark hallways, making it a point to stick to the shadows. It wasn't impossibly late but it was late enough for the building to be empty. I had maybe an hour before Temari and Kankuro went home. I told myself I'd be in and out.

With my wandering ways, the Sand Siblings had been keeping a freakishly close eye on me. I could barely go to the bathroom without one of them damn near following me. It was annoying but I tried to push my annoyance to the side. They were just worried. I was gone for nearly three weeks. And for nearly two weeks, they had been running in circles trying to track me down. And when they finally manage to drag my half-dead ass back to the village, I respond by escaping the hospital.

Jesus I was bad at making decisions.

I've been back for almost a week now, slowly recuperating and nursing my bruised pride and depleted chakra. I didn't talk much about my time away, not that they didn't ask. Gaara asked for me to elaborate several times about what happened but each time I made it a point to keep my mouth shut. Telling him in detail about what happened would only anger him even more. He was already a little testy these days and I certainly didn't want him losing his temper. And the only one who'd be on the receiving end is Jura.

Speaking of which…

I opened the door quietly and came across Jura. The room was empty save for the chair and table he was seated at. His arms and legs were pinned and I noticed he had a weird looking cuff around his wrist. Oh. A Chakra depressor. I tsked softly but knew that this treatment was better than what the Council thought he deserved. Better than the treatment I received. But I pushed that bitter thought to the side. Jura had helped me, practically saved me. It was only right that I check on him.

"Jura?" I called softly, inching into the room. My footsteps were silent due to abandoning my sandals. "Juuuura," I sang just a bit louder, laying a hand on his shoulder. His shoulders tensed and he jerked. I fell back with a shriek, "the fuck, Jura, damn!"

He eyed me with hazy eyes. "Oh," his lips puckered in thought. "Hey, Xin. How are you?" He greeted casually like he wasn't locked up in solitary confinement. I wrinkled my nose and slowly clambered to my feet, dusting my ass off of any sand or dirt.

"Fine, I guess," I shrugged casually. "Missing a tooth though and I have new scars but those never bothered me anyway. Haven't been sleeping much but you know, whatever."

"You need to sleep," He reminded me and I only quirked a brow. For some reason, I don't think our current topic of discussion was really that important.

So I shrugged and shook my head. "Why are they keeping you down here?" I asked, running my fingers from his shoulder down to his hand. He didn't flinch and my hand came away clean. No blood, bumps or bruises.

Jura shifted but it didn't do much for him. "I don't really know at this point. I thought they were going to kill me. Kazekage-sama tried to kill me."

"He did what now?"

Jura looked a little guilty. "Xin, he was angry. I did help in almost killing his wife."

"No you didn't."

"Yes I did."

I glared at him and he glared right back. I broke the glaring contest first, eyes squinting in the dark. Slowly I leaned over him, peeling his shirt away from his back. A very large bruise poked out from what I could see in the dark. My lips pulled at that and I flattened my palm, Chakra sparking to life. He jerked away when he realized I was trying to heal him. "Stop that," He sniffed with a frown. "You're supposed to be recovering your chakra, not wasting it on me."

"I'm not wasting it if it's helping someone you moron."

"You are the kindest medic I have ever met."

"Oh shut the fuck up."

Jura gave me a dirty look but said nothing for a long time. "I told Gaara that...you don't deserve to die," I said after a long moment of silence. Jura glanced at me, obviously confused by my change of heart. I shrugged, knowing I wasn't good at stuff like this. "Cuz' you don't, Jura. You don't deserve it," I stated, believing it. And that's all there was to it. He was searching my eyes for something but I only shrugged again.

"I like you Xin."

I quirked an eyebrow at him. "I know," I nodded. "I like you too which is surprising because I hate everyone. Except Gaara. Kind of can't hate him. Sometimes I want to though. Not because he's a bad person but because he's a good person and I...I'm not."

Jura was staring at me, an unreadable expression on his face. "No. I don't mean it like that," He stated with a frown pinching his lips. I tilted my head to the side. "I like you," He repeated firmly. My expression didn't change. "Like how Kazekage-sama likes you."

The quiet that loomed over us is almost awkward as I stare at him. I did the first thing I could think of in this sort of situation.

I punched him. Hard.

"Xin, what the fuck?!"

"I don't know, I panicked."

"So your reaction is to punch someone?!"

"Look at who you're talking to, my immediate reaction is to attack!"

"Christ, what is wrong with you, you little psycho!"

"Me!? What's wrong with you?!"

Seriously, the fuck was wrong with him? Did he not realize how stupid he sounded? Not only was I a short psychotic murderer, I'm married.

If he could, he'd probably be rubbing his face in exasperation. Instead he just groaned and muttered about the bruise that would probably bloom in a couple of minutes. I didn't apologize. "I know you don't feel the same way, I don't expect you to," He began to say. "I also don't expect you to punch me in the face when my Chakra is nonexistent you damn troll."

I was about to punch him again when I suddenly felt another Chakra baring down on me. I puckered my lips. "Oh fuck," I cursed and took two big steps back. Gaara swept into the room as I tried to plaster an innocent smile on my face.

"You." Gaara glared viciously at me, "What did I tell you?" He approached me, catching me by the arm before I could scramble away.

"Uhhhh….that you missed me?" I tried with a nervous giggle. Gaara did not look amused. He chanced a glance at Jura and furrowed his brow.

"What happened to your face, Mikawa?"

"He fell."

"I fell."

Jura looked like he wanted to smack me because honestly, what? He fell? I could've came up with a better lie than that. I was really off my game lately. Maybe something was knocked loose in my head. How many times did I have my face thrown into the ground? Too many times to count.

I suppose Gaara decided to let my horrible lie slide because he rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Didn't we have a conversation about this?" He motioned around us. "About making these sort of choices on your own? What did I tell you?"

"Okay, well, technically, we were talking about Kimi and Satoru. And besides, I'm not interrogating Jura."

"Then what are you doing down here so late at night when no one can hear his screams?"

I shot him a sarcastic smile. "I was just checking on him. Why'd you try to kill him? He has a big ass bruise on his back, Gaara. Christ and all twelve, what'd you do to him? Throw him into a building?" I rolled my eyes and waited for an answer. Gaara didn't answer. I stared at him, face breaking in disbelief. "You threw him into a building."

"Xin, we are not having this conversation right now."

"When can we have it then?"

"We can't."

"Yes we can."

Gaara glared fiercely at me and for some reason, I shrank away. Well, that was new. There have been times when Gaara has scared the living shit out of me but…..

He noticed my sudden hunched shoulders and frowned. "I didn't mean…." He began to say but I only shook my head. Whatever that was, I didn't want to talk about it.

I glanced at Jura. He was conveniently looking away but his brow was in a deep furrow. I glanced in between the two men, frowning. Gaara's grip loosened on my arm until it fell to my waist but I paid it no mind. "Jura? Do...do you want a chance to fix things?"

Gaara said nothing to stop me from whatever I was doing. Jura only glanced at me before looking at his lap. "Yes…" He answered almost solemnly. I grinned widely.

"Then tell us what you know."

* * *

You're not going."

"Eh?"

Gaara and I walked back to the house, hand in hand. We had stayed for an hour more, listening as he told us more about Masahiro and his careful planning that he'd been obsessing over for nearly three or four years. He even told us the exact location of Masahiro's hideout. "I know you're going to want to go on this mission but you're not going. I'm not sending you."

His grip on my hand tightened. I sighed softly with my lips puckered. I thought about Masahiro, Kyohei, Minori and Kenta. I thought about wanting to hunt them down one by one and killing them each slowly.

"Eventually," I started to say. "You'll give me missions again. I can't just be a medic working at the Hospital. I'll get cabin fever."

Gaara nodded, probably grateful that I didn't put up a fight. I don't know why I didn't bother but I knew I just wanted this whole ordeal to be over with. "I'll talk to the council about everything Jura told us. Perhaps it'll be agreed to pardon him. He's a good person who made the wrong mistakes," He said simply. I smiled widely at the notion, glad that I really didn't have to punch him in the head to get him to agree with me on this. Boys could be so stubborn sometimes. The rest of our walk was silently peaceful. I expected him to scold me for seeking Jura out without his permission but he remained quiet. I wasn't sure if I liked that or not.

Temari and Kankuro were home and they looked me over with critical eyes. I acted like I didn't notice their gazes as I sauntered into the kitchen to prepare dinner. It was a little awkward, sitting around the table trying to figure out what to talk about but we somehow managed. Kankuro didn't fight with me about dish duty and I retired early to my bed.

"Your hair's still wet," Gaara grumbled distastefully when he came in after his shower. I only grumbled at his words, turning on my side. He made a noise before grabbing me and sitting me up. I let out a long whine but he just threw a towel over my head and started to blot my hair dry.

"You're not going back to the tower?" I asked. I noticed that lately he's been hanging around a lot when he usually would be at work.

"Not tonight," He answered simply.

I frowned, not that he could see it as he continued to towel dry my hair. "Your work is finished for the day?" I questioned, wondering why he bothered to cut his work day so short.

"It's fine Xin," He answered but didn't really answer. I hummed and waved his hands away, figuring my hair was dry enough. I twisted the thick locks into a braid that hung over my shoulder. I turned around and watched as he went about the room, making sure everything was in place before sliding into the bed next to me with a book.

"So," I patted at his leg. "You threw Jura into a building?" I offered the topic of conversation. Gaara sighed heavily next to me and put his book down without even bothering to read.

He looked at me, frowning. "I lost my temper," Gaara stated simply. "I was stressed out and the Shukaku was agitated. It just happened."

My lips quirked into a smile. "I guess that's kind of sweet. I think. That means you were really worried about me, huh?" I nudged at his arm. Gaara didn't reply, opting to shoot me a dirty look. "Earlier today…" I took a deep breath, preparing myself for what I was about to say. "When I was talking to Jura, he told me that he likes me," I told him, deciding that it would be better to tell him now than let him find out later. Gaara didn't say anything. I didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. "I punched him in the face after he explained how he liked me. I thought he meant he just liked me as a friend and when he told me differently...I panicked."

"How can anyone be attracted to you and your violent ways?"

"I have great tits."

"Oh for fuck's sake…"

I let out a squealing laugh. "Okay maybe that's not the reason," I looked down at my chest. Well, it was part of the reason. I did have a great rack on me but whatever. "Like I told Ukyo, it's a foreign thing."

Gaara grunted. "Everyone's attracted to my foreign wife."

"Well, yes, but remember, I only have eyes for you. Doesn't that count for something?"

"I'm not sure. Why did you punch Jura? And speaking of which, he fell? Really? That was the best you could come up with me? How'd he fall, Xin?"

"Didn't I just say I panicked? I don't do well under pressure apparently. I'm getting rusty, that happens you know, what with all the mission withholding and everything...not a quick thinker like I used to be."

"Nice try."

"Worth a shot," I shrugged casually. "I don't...I don't return his feelings, you know," I suddenly stated. It seemed kind of weird that I felt the need to reassure Gaara of my nonexistent feelings for Jura. "It really surprised me, honestly. This entire time I just thought we were best friends, I thought that's all he felt for me but apparently…." I trailed off almost awkwardly.

Knowing that Jura had somehow developed feelings for me was weird. It was like Sasori kissing me all over again. Just weird and out of the blue. I glanced at Gaara. At least he wasn't bursting at the seams with possessive jealousy like last time. "I'm going to kill him."

I blanched and threw myself over him. "Noooo, we talked about this. No killing Jura," I whined while wrapping my arms around him. My muscles protested the movement and I hissed through clenched teeth. Feeling this weak was really starting to piss me off. I wanted to be back at full health already.

"Stop overdoing it," Gaara grumbled, shimmying out of my hold. I pouted and drew my arms away. Gaara sighed heavily and looped his arm around my shoulders, tugging me until I nestled into his side. I went without a fight, almost sighing in content at the warmth and sturdiness his body provided to me. With smiling lips, I stretched up to kiss the corner of his mouth. Kissing him seemed almost second-nature to me now. I began to settle against him, intent on getting a good night's rest (I slept easier when Gaara came to bed with me, odd) when his fingers suddenly caught my chin. My face pinched in confusion right before he leaned down and placed a soft kiss against my lips. When my lips moved in compliance, he pressed down harder. I felt his tongue slide over my upper lip.

Instead of normally returning the kiss, I felt something in my stomach clench. I ripped myself away and for some reason, I reared forward towards his shoulder and tried to bite him.

Gaara's shoulder jerked out of the way and I almost expected to suddenly have his hand around my neck. A pain at the back of my head bloomed but I knew there was no wound back there to speak of. "Xin…." Gaara trailed off with a disturbed expression across his face. "I usually enjoy your biting but something tells me you weren't doing that to my benefit."

"Um…" I tried to think of something to say to explain my odd behavior. I couldn't come up with anything but Christ, did I really just try to bite my fuckin' husband?

Something flashed through my mind and I felt phantom hands sliding over my body. I could feel them prodding at my breasts and gripping at my thighs. I could feel unfamiliar lips pressed sloppily against my own mouth and hips rocking into my hips. "Does he fuck you rough? Do you want it rough, Princess? I can give it to you better than he can."

My eyebrows drew together as I pressed my fingers against my lips. "He was going to rape me," I uttered in realization. For the past couple of days I'd been remembering things or wondering if it was a figment of my imagination. After all, I had lost a lot of blood and could have been suffering from delirium. But now I don't think that's the case.

"What?" the simple question was icy and I seriously had to wonder if I wanted to turn to my left. I remembered the last time we had to deal with another man forcing a kiss on me and how that turned out. Now I had stupidly said out loud that another man had tried to rape me. Oh dear God, my decision making skills are complete and utter shit.

I lurched out of the bed, ready to dart across the room. Gaara's hand caught my upper arm before my feet could even brush against the floor. With a squeal I was yanked backwards and over him. His weight settled over me and I only briefly looked at his shifting eyes before I felt a swell of panic burst in my chest.

With a strangled wail, my limbs were flying everywhere. My hands slapped at his arms and my legs flailed in wild kicks. My hips bucked, trying desperately to get the very large male off of me.

And then all at once, I stopped. Golden eyes stared down at me as clumps of sand gathered at the side of his head. I could see sharpened teeth beginning to slide down past his lips and felt those damn claws on my arms.

The fear slunk away. Demon or not, this was Gaara. This was my husband. And if I just calmed down enough and told him to get the fuck off of me, he would. "I…." my chest heaved but my legs slowly relaxed under him. "I'm sorry, I panicked and had a flashback and you were getting angry—please ease up on my arms."

He did just that, nails that were pricking into my skin slowly easing up. "Uh," I stumbled to say something.

"Who was it?"

"Gaara, nothing happened. I bit him in self-defense. Jura came in and helped me," I explained quickly. Gaara's jaw tightened at the mention of Jura. Shit, shit, don't mention Jura. Don't mention Jura.

"I don't care if nothing happened. Who was it."

I wish the bed could just swallow my stupid ass up right now. Of all things to suddenly remember and blurt out loud, that just had to be it. I fidgeted under him, wishing he would just back off a little bit. "Okay, okay. Could you just back off a little? You're making me nervous," I told him, eyes darting around wildly. He did just that and backed off just a tad bit. Okay, I didn't literally mean a little but at least he was still coherent. I squirmed under him and sat up on my elbows.

His legs tightened, securely boxing me in if I tried to run again. He'd probably catch me with his sand if I somehow managed to escape so I pushed the idea of running to the very back of my mind. I took a calming breath, breathing softly through the slight flare of my nostrils.

"The...Kenta," I muttered, gaze averting to the side. "I was delirious but he was too...sloppy and his form was too big. I thought…." I paused, suddenly remembering what I had been hallucinating right before realizing Kenta was not who I thought he was. My face felt hot at that point, too hot and I covered my face with my hands. "Christ…" I peeked from in between my fingers to see that he was staring intently at me. "Nothing, I thought nothing."

"You thought it was me."

"To be fair, I was delirious. I lost a lot of blood and...I just...I thought about you a lot," I admitted, finding this hard to say. God, I was not meant for stuff like this. I was meant to kill something. I needed to kill something, not confess my almost rape. "It...it's not a big deal, Gaara," I muttered quietly.

One thing Lena-sensei taught my team when we first started out as kunoichi is how enemies often used rape as a form of torture and interrogation. As young teenagers, barely thirteen, we didn't really understand how rape could be torturous. But now I could see how it could fuck up a person's mentality and doubting it in the past is probably just some more of my karma biting me in the ass.

"If it's not a big deal…." Gaara broke me out of my thoughts. "Why are you crying?" He asked slowly. I watched in fascination as the gold of his eyes melted away into his familiar blue.

Maybe that's why my nose was burning and my throat felt like it had closed up? Very slowly I reached up to touch at my face. True to his words, I was crying. "I...I don't know," I managed to wheeze out. I reached down and pulled my shirt up to wipe at my face. I've cried a lot since coming to Suna, I realized. It was kind of weird. This village had done many weird things to me. This man had done many weird things to me. I sat up a little more and Gaara leaned away. "I'm..fine, it's nothing, I'm fine," I insisted while rubbing a little too hard at my face.

Kenta saw my scars, I realized. Or at least felt them. My lips twisted at that and a shiver crawled its way up and down my spine. I suddenly felt like I could feel each and every scar that was stitched into my skin. I coiled into myself, bringing my legs to my chest. I ran a hand down my shin, feeling the ruined flesh.

"You aren't fine, Xin."

"No, I'm not," I agreed simply. "But when am I ever fine? You get used to it after awhile."

"I don't want to get used to it."

"Sounds like a personal problem then."

"Xin."

I stopped rubbing my shin and sighed heavily. "I don't want to talk about it, Gaara. He didn't get far, I'm fine."

"Then why are you shaking?"

"Bad nerves."

Gaara didn't look amused and it made me take a deep breath. "He..just…." I could feel my face heating up. "I remember kisses. They were kind of gross now that I think about it. And groping, lots of groping," I paused, digging around in my head for more of the memory.

He didn't look happy but he didn't hulk out on me so I figured that was good enough. I'd rot in hell before I ever admit that he's angry for my sake is kind of nice. And that his anger is kind of a turn on. "What's a turn on?"

"I'm sorry?"

"You just muttered something about a turn on?"

"No I didn't."

"I heard you."

"No you didn't."

He shot me a dirty look and I rubbed at my face kind of harshly. "I kind of like it when you worry about me. I mean, sometimes it freaks me the fuck out when you go all ape-shit on me but…" I smiled gently and reached up to play with a loose strand of hair. "It's nice. I mean, when you aren't snarling in my face and making bloody holes in my arms or legs..it's nice," I admitted with a hot face. Well, I'm bound to rot in Hell anyway, I guess.

"I didn't mean to make you bleed."

"I know. Can I kiss you?"

"Only if you promise not to bite me."

"Ah, so you don't like that kind of thing?"

"Not if you're going to rupture an artery in my shoulder with your teeth, no."

I huffed and scooted closer, nudging my way in between his legs. "I said I was sorry, I panicked," I reminded him sourly while settling my hands on his shoulders. He drew his arms around my lazily, settling them at my waist as I practically draped myself over him.

I had a funny feeling in my stomach but I pushed that aside in favor of the feeling is his lips against mine.

_End P.O.V_

* * *

Xin awkwardly rubbed her arm as she stood on the doorstep of the Mikawa's house. She had avoided the remaining siblings ever since returning but she figured someone should speak to the siblings about the recent developments involving their brothers. And Genji. She mostly forgot about Genji since he hadn't made an appearance when she was away but he was still involved.

"Sensei!" Ukyo swung the door open with a smile. "What are you doing here? Did I miss a training session?" her smile dropped at the thought of missing a training session. She was pretty sure she was off for the day with no training from Kankuro or Xin.

Xin stopped rubbing her arm, dropping her hand to sit idly. Ukyo noticed that her fingers twitched and she quickly folded her twitching hands behind her back. "No, you're fine. No training today. But...ah..is Asuna in?"

Ukyo nodded and stepped away from the door, silently inviting her medical teacher to come in. Xin did so with a strained smile, pausing to kick her sandals off. "She's been resting upstairs mostly. Her feet are really swollen lately and it's been bothering her."

Xin nodded her head. "Could you tell her I need to speak with her? It's very important…" She rubbed the back of her neck nervously. Ukyo sent her to the kitchen with a smile, leaving to help Asuna down the steps. Xin sat in the kitchen, remembering the various times of sitting at this same table and sharing laughs with Jura and the rest of his oddball family. She sighed heavily, feeling as if she ripped the family apart.

"My lady!" Asuna came in seconds later, surprising Xin. She figured it would be a good five or ten minutes before Asuna made her way down the stairs. She quickly got up, pulling the other chair out and helping the older woman to it. "Thank you! Jeez, moving around can be so troublesome now, I feel like this baby is a lot bigger than expected. What do you think?"

Xin smiled wryly and sat down after making sure Asuna was comfortable enough. "Ah, well, your brothers are pretty tall. Maybe it's the genes. I wouldn't be surprised if the kid turns out to be a giant," She remarked. Asuna paled and shook her head, mumbling about all her rotten luck.

"Anyway, you've been gone for quite some time. It's a little odd though, you left right around the time my brothers and Genji suddenly vanished...you wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

"Well…"

"And you know, some days after you vanished, Baki-san paid us a visit. It was strange, he was asking all of these weird questions about my husband and my brothers. I had no idea what to make of it. Perhaps you could shed some light on that?"

Xin let out a big sigh and rubbed her face. "Beating around the bush isn't like you, Asuna," She muttered quietly. "Your brothers and your husband have been branded as traitors. Orders have been given to kill on sight," She answered as her hand dropped to her lap. Her gaze was stoic and her lips were set in a grim line. Asuna took it pretty well, Xin supposed. Her face lost color and she rolled her lip into her mouth. She was sure that if someone randomly told her that Hinata, Hanabi and Gaara were suddenly branded as traitors and were to be killed on sight, she'd flip her shit.

"Why?"

Xin tapped her fingers against her lap. She wasn't sure how Gaara would feel but she figured Asuna deserved to know. With a deep sigh, she told the eldest daughter everything she knew. From the start to just the other day, she told Asuna everything she knew. When she was finally finished, she waited anxiously for Asuna's reaction. The blonde's face was primarily passive but Xin did take notice of the grip she had on her dress. When Asuna took notice of Xin's blatant staring, she quickly released the fabric of her dress. Her hands shook but she tried to mask it by smoothing the wrinkles away.

"I thought you would take the news differently…" Xin spoke calmly, still wary of any delayed reactions. The Mikawas, she had learned, reacted solely off of emotions. And she was wary of Asuna suddenly losing her shit and chucking the toaster at her head.

Asuna drummed her nails against the table. "Kyo...he's never been the same after our parents died and maybe that's my fault for not doing something sooner but I was just so busy with trying to care for my siblings. Ukyo and Usui's parents were helpful but eventually we were on our own when they passed," Asuna sighed heavily, rubbing her forehead.

"As for Jura, that's surprising. He made a stupid choice without really thinking of the consequences," Asuna rolled her eyes. Xin only squinted at her and leaned forward slightly.

"Um, I don't mean to be rude or anything but you're taking this a lot better than I thought. I can literally murder your brothers and husband if they suddenly strolled in here and it would be allowed."

"You speak so easily of murdering people you've formed bonds with."

"I barely said more than ten sentences to your husband. Kyohei has been trying to kill me since before you even thought of returning and Jura…..he's a special case."

Asuna allowed the younger woman's words to sink in. "Ever since I met you, Hatsune has been insisting that you're a vicious murderer and while I did see you as…." the blonde paused thoughtfully. "Well, I'm not really sure what I saw you as. For the time being, you were just the medic looking after my pregnancy.."

Xin said nothing, eyes holding Asuna's gaze steadily. "So you think she's right?"

Asuna smiled softly and quietly shook her head. "Why did you come here to tell me this? Did Kazekage-sama think a familiar face would soften the blow from being told my brothers and husband are criminals?"

Xin tried to relax, easing the stiff settling of her shoulders and slouching more into the chair. "I came here because I care for Jura and his family."

"Even Hatsune?"

"I find her entertaining but that's not the point. Jura is being withheld, I think a pardon is being negotiated since he leaked some of the plans but make no mistake, Asuna, this is a warning I'm issuing here," if there had been any emotion on Xin's face, she wiped it clean. "If any of any you turn out to be supporting your idiotic brother and husband, I will follow any order I'm given."

Asuna's lips twitched at Xin's jab. "Everything mean thing your sister has said about me...anytime Kyohei has called me insane or psychotic, they were right. Every bad thing, they're right about. I need you and everyone in this house to understand something. Above all else, being the Kazekage's wife, a medical ninja or even a Sensei, I am a kunoichi."

"And a kunoichi always follows their orders," Asuna commented wryly. "You said 'any', are you suggesting that if you find out Hideki or even Ukyo has anything to do with this mess, you'll take care of them?"

"I'm not suggesting anything. I'm warning you."

"They're kids."

"So was Usui but that didn't stop them from using him as a test dummy and killing him, now did it?" Xin casually examined her nails. Asuna's face hardened. "They aren't kids anymore, Asuna. They're ninja. The minute they knot their headbands, they become Shinobi."

The blonde nodded, knowing the way of the ninja but suddenly hating it. She knew Genji and Kyo had been acting out of sorts lately but she would have never guessed that they were supporters of such a horrible thing. And Genji….knowing those poisonous worms had been something to do with her husband made her heart sink. "I never believed there could be a possibility that I could raise my child alone, marrying a councilmen and everything.."

"Is that why you married Genji? You felt like your child was guaranteed a father?"

"Of course not!" Asuna slapped the table, anger surging through her. "I married him because I love him, that's what marriage is about! You should know that, you're married, aren't you?"

Xin tried to relax, rolling her lips together when she felt the urge to bare her teeth. "We're not talking about my marriage or love. We're talking about the truth."

Asuna took a long breath, laying a hand over her bulging stomach. "I just wanted to raise my child in a healthy environment with both parents present," Asuna confessed with a sad look. "But I can tell by the look on your face that this won't be the case."

Living in a healthy environment with both parents present? Who the hell was she kidding? Xin tried to ignore the sudden urge to laugh. In the world they lived in? That was barely possible. "I'm not going to promise you that this will be the case. I can't promise anything until we recover Genji and find out why he's involved."

"And Kyo?"

"Kyohei is going to die. He's a prime suspect for setting the Kage's tower on fire, he's physically attacked me several times," Xin began listing things off on her fingers. "He's aided in my kidnapping and fully participated in my torture with the intent to kill me and has threatened to kill the Kazekage on more than one occasion, so…."

"And there's nothing to be done for him."

"Well, you could probably fight for a pardon but I doubt it would be successful. The council are a bunch of suspicious ass fucks so if you try to fight for his pardon, I'm sure they'll suspect you of treason as well and try to have you executed."

Asuna reached up to massage her temples. Of course she wanted to fight for her brother's freedom. But if Kyohei really was plotting such horrible things, what exactly could she do? With her brothers and Genji missing, she had to look after her younger siblings and Ukyo. Not to mention, she was heavily pregnant and ready to pop any day. How could she do anything for those three idiots if she had a baby on the way?

"God, my parents must be turning in their graves," She grumbled irritably. She glanced over at Xin, finally taking notice of Xin's appearance. She looked positively exhausted with dark circles under her usually lively eyes. Her hair that was always groomed to perfection was hastily thrown into a bun that was slowly slipping out of it's hold. She was dressed down in a simple dress with long sleeves when she would be sporting crop tops and shorts due to the hot weather. When she moved her hands around, Asuna caught the sight of fading bruises. "You look horrible," Asuna blurted, politeness be damned. Amusement gleamed in Xin's eyes, replacing the weary look for a second.

"Well, torture will do that to a woman," She chuckled softly. "A common rule that we, as women, always try to follow is that rule about trying not to look weak or letting our emotions get the best of us. That rule is a bunch of bullshit. I got my ass handed to me, I thought I was going to die. I accepted it. I was scared. I wanted Gaara," Xin began to confess, placing her elbow on the table so that she could settle her chin in the palm of her hand. Her sleeve fell away to reveal more of the faded bruises. Asuna eyed the bruises with no shame, studying the aggravated flesh with a soft frown.

"I never thought I would hear you admit to being afraid of anything."

"Yeah, well, it humbled my ass. Just a bit though. I know once I get my hands on those morons, I'm going to break my foot off in their asses but….I'm still human. I'm still just a woman and I don't always win."

Asuna's brow twitched. "Even if they have done wrong, they're still my brother and husband," She reminded the younger woman with a twitch of her lips. Xin raised her eyebrows, her own lips puckering.

"Still gonna hunt them down."

"My Lady…"

Xin took a deep breath. "Alright, alright, fine, I'll stop," XIn paused, eyes glancing towards the clock. With another heavy breath, she climbed to her feet. "I just wanted to warn you. I think that if something like this happened to me, I would want to know," She waved for Asuna to sit back down. She knew her way out. "Asuna, I...I am sorry about how this turned out but I don't think there's much I can do at this point but follow orders. I think I already used up my favors by asking for Jura's pardon."

Asuna noted that Xin looked a lot older than eighteen years old at that moment. She was glad she wasn't in the younger woman's position. Married at only eighteen, having to beg for your best friend's life, being tortured because of your husband, and having to deal with things like telling your friend's sibling of their sudden criminal activity.

She was suddenly so glad that she had retired.

"And that's the only part that you eat?"

Xin smiled widely at Ukyo's face as she dug around her sleeve for her keys. Maybe Gaara was right, she did seem rather forgetful when it comes to the keys. "Yes, the entire fish is poisonous so we cut out the only edible part," Xin answered, cheering quietly when sh finally found the keys.

"That's ridiculous," Ukyo wrinkled her nose at the thought of that. "Konoha has weird preferences for food."

Xin snorted at that, somehow balancing the two bags of groceries in her thin arms. "Really? You people eat fried scorpions, that's not weird to you? They're poisonous and you still eat them."

"The poison nullifies when we cook it. It's perfectly safe."

"It's perfectly safe when we cut out the edible part of the fish."

"You could literally die if you don't prepare it right."

"Well, that's why you have to prepare it right. It's rather exciting, I like to think."

"You've prepared that before?"

"Mm, it's one of my Grandfather's favorite meals. I seen one of the cooks preparing it once when I was little. I asked her to teach me how to make it and started to make it every year for him."

The older woman paused while settling the paper bags on the counter. Suddenly sh realized sh wouldn't be able to celebrate hee grandfather's next birthday. Not unless she tried to travel back to Konoha. A minor family tradition, but a long standing one that I wouldn't be included in. Another sacrifice she had to make.

Sometimes Xin had to wondered why she agreed to this marriage. She ended up sacrificing everything she had to make this man look nice and he didn't have to give up a thing other than his bachelor status.

Her brows knitted together because Jesus Christ, when was the last time she suddenly felt so sour towards their marriage? Lately she hadn't been angry about it, she was sure that she'd accepted it all.

Waving the thoughts away, she started unpacking the groceries. If Ukyo had taken notice of her teacher's sudden quietness, she had graciously ignored it. She'd been staring into space a lot, lately. No one ever bothered to comment on it. Sh wasn't sure if that made her feel better or not.

The two spent the afternoon teaching one another traditional foods from their villages. It was kind of strange that their tastes were so different despite the villages being only a week's travel away. Xin noticed Suna preferred salted foods while Konoha often favored strongly flavored foods.

"Sensei, how can your people take this?" Ukyo whined, pushing the spicy dish away. Xin huffed and grabbed the plate. If she wasn't going to eat it, Xin wasn't going to let it go to waste.

Just as Ukyo was reaching for her cup of tea, she paused with a thoughtful look. Xin only glanced at her, opting to shove the slice of spicy chicken into her mouth. Something was obviously weighing down on her but Xin wasn't going to push the issue. "Sensei?"

"Mm?"

"Are you alright?"

The older woman glanced at her but Ukyo wasn't looking at her. Perhaps she was searching for answers in the reflection of her tea. Xin calmly reached for the tea-kettle, casually tilting it to refill her cup. "I'm fine, why do you ask?"

Ukyo mumbled a quick thank you and gingerly nursed her cup. "You haven't been yourself since you returned."

"How have I been acting?"

"Well, you're very quiet and even a little somber. Your temper is tamed and you aren't as...sassy as you were beforehand," Ukyo admitted slowly. Xin snorted, nearly choking on the chunk of chicken. Describing her as sassy was probably the nicest way someone had described her recently. She kind of thought it was funny. Quiet and somber definitely wasn't one of her personality quirks and having a tamed temper wasn't normal either.

"If we're being honest, I'm tired, I suppose."

"That's all? You're just tired? The recent events you've gone through have nothing to do with your vacant stares or your tamed temper?"

_"Ukyo—"_

"Sensei."

Xin sat up a little straighter and looked at her, brow quirked. "Why do I feel like the roles are reversed?"

"Because you're acting like a child."

This time Xin glared at her, a little irritated with all her questions and accusations. "Asuna-chan told me about your visit the other day," Ukyo uttered, losing some of her nerve. Xin only hummed in reply, not really seeing where she was going with that. "Are your words true?"

"About?" She asked casually. Ukyo's face flushed horribly in what Xin assumed to be anger. She couldn't be embarrassed, not by what she was asking. "Be more straight-forward," She chided evenly, gently sipping my own tea.

"You told her that if you find any of us suspicious, you would follow any orders given."

"Not if I find you suspicious, specifically but, that's the gist of it," Xin nodded slightly.

"But do you find us suspicious?"

"You and Asuna? No."

"And what about Hideki and Hatsune?"

"I don't think Hideki is suspicious, I think he's angry as fuck and if someone doesn't watch that kid, he might eventually go down a similar path as Kyohei," She answered leisurely. Ukyo's dark brows rose at my words, looking at her teacher with wide eyes. "He's been acting off lately, don't you think? Ever since Asuna noticed Genji's odd behavior, Hideki has been hostile."

"He's been quiet lately but I would have never guessed he's been hostile."

"Ah, well," The bluenette pointed to her eyes. "All seeing eyes and everything."

"That's not even true."

"And how do you know that?" She asked in amusement. Ukyo wrinkled her nose at the words but Xin only smiled lazily. "As for Hatsune...well, it's debatable. She's more of a 50/50 thing. She could be a person of interest or she might be completely useless."

"Sensei, you can't just talk about human beings that way."

"What way?"

"So...blasé."

"You still have so much to learn. So much you haven't seen," She mused in that same lazy tone. "Ignorance is bliss, I suppose," She spoke softly more to herself than to Ukyo.

"Sensei, surely after all this time, you really can't so be distrustful, wary and indifferent of people."

"My best friend turned a blind eye to my torture."

"What?"

Ah, Xin guessed Ukyo really wouldn't have known what happened. It's not like the Hyuga really told anyone. Obviously she knew Xin was being tortured but she supposed she was still ignorant to Jura's involvement. Or, lack of involvement. "When I came to Suna, I felt very isolated. The people generally avoided me or marveled from afar. It was lonely and it frustrated me a lot. It put a strain on my relationship with Gaara. We argued constantly," Xin began to say, poking at the cold food. That wasn't necessarily the truth but it was somewhat close to it. They did fight a lot and she was lonely back then.

"Jura reminded me of a friend back home and though it took some time, I fell easily into a friendship with him. Besides Gaara, I trusted Jura very much and he was the first one I felt like I could be myself around him. I didn't have to act the part that was given to me. I enjoyed that. I enjoyed the friendship…..but…."

"You don't know if you can trust him since he's already turned a blind eye before?"

Xin shrugged one shoulder. "Sometimes being too trusting isn't the best thing," She stated somberly. "It can be your downfall," She told Ukyo gently, hoping she wouldn't be too offended that she was being told her trusting nature could get her into some trouble.

"I see."

The tea had grown cold.

* * *

"Ah, there you are."

Hideki didn't stop in striking the training dummy as Xin approached him. It was getting rather late and when she walked Ukyo back to the Mikawa's house, Asuna had expressed her worry for her brother. With a heavy sigh and a quiet grumble, Xin told her that would go talk to her wayward brother. Hideki barely turned to look at Xin, muttering a quick greeting. She watched him whack away at the training dummy with a hand on her hip. Rolling her eyes, she let him go for a few minutes before deciding enough was enough.

Tightening her fingers into a fist, she swooped in and punched the damn thing into a thousand shards of sharp wood. Hideki jumped away with a startled cry. He whipped around with an evil gleam in his eyes. Xin slowly quirked a brow while folding her arms across her chest.

Realization dawned on him and he hunched his shoulders. "Good evening, my Lady. I'm sorry I didn't take notice of you when you first arrived. I was distracted."

"Clearly. Why are you beating the shit out of the training post? And what's with all this formal talk? You're usually not this formal with me."

Hideki shifted, rubbing his arm apprehensively. Xin continued to stare at him before taking a deep breath. "C'mon," She waved him after me, taking a slow stroll away from the training grounds. He easily kept up and she noted blandly that he was a bit taller than she remembered. The two continued in silence and they eventually came to one of the parks spread throughout Suna.

"What's going on, kiddo?" Xin asked casually while sitting down on a park bench. Hideki joined her, albeit slowly. He twisted his hands together, finding an abnormal interest in them. He continued to twist and fiddle with his fingers, leaving the two of them in complete silence. She crossed her legs and began to softly to kick her foot.

"Nothing's going on, Sensei," He muttered without looking up. Xin wasnt sure why he would sometimes call her that. It wasn't like she was really teaching him anything. But if he wouldn't just call her by name, she'd rather he call her Sensei instead of being so formal with her.

"You seem a lot more testy these days. Asuna told me you seemed a little hostile lately."

Hideki grumbled irritably and scowled harshly. Xin waited patiently, deciding that that was all she was going to say. He was going to tell her, he needed someone to talk to. Someone outside of his family.

"I hate Genji."

_Ah, shit._

It was silent again for a long time. "Because he took Asuna from your family?" She asked calmly. It was obvious that the family was close-knit and heavily depended on one another since the death of their parents. Xin figured that with Genji coming along and whisking Asuna away to Kiri, it might not sit well with all of the remaining family members.

More so Hideki since he was the youngest. She was sure that Kyohei, Jura and Hatsune had understood and accepted their sister leaving but for Hideki, he must have been hurt. Asuna was obviously the motherly figure he needed and she had been torn right from their little family.

Sometimes she wondered if either of her sisters easily accepted her own departure. They hadn't said anything but it wasn't like either of them to speak their mind unless prompted to do so. Xin hadn't asked them how they felt about leaving Konoha, she pretty much just packed some some of her things up and left. Maybe she should talk to them soon.

"He didn't have to take her to Kiri in the first place," Hideki suddenly spat, wringing his hands a little too hard for her liking. "That's when Kyo started acting funny and Jura had to take all of these missions to support us and Hatsune got real grouchy around that time…"

Xin hummed quietly.

"And then she comes back and makes us think everything is going to go back to being normal but that's not even the case! She comes back pregnant and then Genji shows up and makes everything worse. He's been acting weird ever since he came to live with us and they were always arguing and now he just vanishes!"

_Aw, hell._

"What's the matter with him, she's pregnant! How can you just leave your pregnant wife after weeks and weeks of arguing with her? Asuna doesn't deserve that, she doesn't any of that treatment."

"Hideki," Xin placed a hand on his shoulder and watched him as he sucked in mouthfuls of air. "Slow down, kiddo," She chided quietly. "I know Asuna doesn't deserve any of that but it's not your business. She's a grown woman, you are not."

"But she's my sister!" Hideki snapped hotly, jumping up into a defensive stance. Xin only stared at him, head slightly tilted to the side. Talented Chunin or not, he wasn't a match for her and both of them knew that.

"Sit down," Xin ordered icily. He did so, looking slighted but still angry. "She's your sister, yes, but she is grown and has made her own choices. Sometimes the choices we make don't always benefit us and sometimes it'll even fuck us over but that's what being an adult is about. Tell me, where do you think Genji has vanished to?"

"He's with another woman."

She closed her eyes and snorted. God, if only it was that simple. "Alright, now tell me, you don't think it's a little odd that your brothers have also disappeared along with Genji?"

"They're Shinobi, Sensei, they're always gone on missions," He answered with a squint of his eyes. What else did Shinobi do with their time?

This time, she laughed and shook her head. "Fair enough. Next question, what do you plan on doing to Genji? Clearly you'll retaliate when he shows back up, yes?"

"I'm going to kill him."

"Ah, I see," Xin nodded my head. "Killing is quite easy, you know? I've done it a million times and no doubt I'll do it a million more times. How do you plan on killing your brother in law? Beheading him? Disemboweling him? Slitting his throat with a kunai knife? Oh, you could always ambush him and corner him with your team. Catch him in a Genjutsu, perhaps? Oh yes, killing is quite easy. But the aftermath? Do you think you can handle the death of your brother on your shoulders? Of course, killing a fellow villager for no good reason is against the law. And more importantly, he's considered a villager, not a Shinobi, so murdering a villager would be even worse..."

Hideki's face pulled in slight anger. "You've done it a million times so how do you shoulder all of the deaths? What makes you different from me?"

She stared at him hard and he seemed to shrink under her gaze. She raised her eyebrows apathetically. "You want me to be honest?"

"You always are, Sensei."

Usually Xin would have laughed but she didn't really feel like it. "I don't care, Hideki. I honestly don't give a fuck about a stranger's life. If Gaara orders me to kill someone, I will do it. Doesn't matter what they've done to offend the village, I'm given an order and I carry it out. I don't have time to deal with the aftermath of guilt that's sure to come because I'm already hunting down the next offender. I've done so for Tsunade and I will do so for Gaara," her foot shook a little harder but she held her mask of indifference firmly in place.

"I have bathed in the blood of enemies, destroyed homes, burned them to the ground in the name of Konoha. I'll do it in the name of Suna. Why do I do it? Because it's what I'm good at. It's what is asked of me. So tell me, Hideki, can you really kill Genji because your sister is unhappy? Can you deal with her inevitable mourning afterwards? And when it is discovered that you killed Genji, will you be able to deal with the repercussions?"

To her utter relief, Hideki had gone very pale. He seemed to have suddenly realized that he wasn't just sitting next to the wife of his leader but a cold-blooded killer. It scared the shit out of him. That was good.

"I told Asuna that the minute you tied your headband, you were no longer a child. That's not true, I suppose. You are still a young Shinobi, just a Chunin. Hopefully Gaara won't need to send you on a mission with the intents to kill for a very long time. Take advantage of that, eventually the way of Shinobi will overtake you, you might become jaded. Enjoy the life you have now."

It was silent between the two of them for a long time. With a soft sigh, she slid a little closer and placed her arm around him.

I did not speak of his tears to anyone.

* * *

"Life treating you well, Jura?"

Xin casually strolled into the room, toting two bags. Jura glanced up at her, raising one eyebrow as she slid her shoes off and sat down across from him. She settled the bags on the table. "I'm a goddamn prisoner, Xin, what do you think?"

"Oh don't be so dramatic," She waved her hand causally. "Have they attempted to poison you? Drag you out into that hallway to beat the shit out of you?"

"Christ, Xin, I said I was sorry."

"Sorry doesn't make my nightmares go away, does it?"

"You...you have nightmares?"

"I mean I was tortured and nearly raped but it's alright, I have nightmares all the time about other things."

"You're psychotic, Xin."

"So you've said before."

Jura looked away in shame and Xin calmly rifled through the bag. She set a carton of fried scorpion down before him. He stared at the carton with hungry eyes before looking up at her. "You're a cruel woman."

"Yes, I am," Xin grinned wolfishly. "I'll untie you but you have to promise to behave, alright?" She stared back at him casually. Jura stared at the tiny woman with drawn brows. They joked often that she was crazy but had she really lost her mind? He was a prisoner and here she was offering to untie him so he could eat?

He only nodded, wondering just what was going on in her strange mind. Pleased with his compliance, Xin got up and rounded the table to undo his bonds. He stretched his arms as soon as she sat back down, keeping his hands in plain sight. Xin opened her own carton of shrimp fried rice and pushed his carton of fried scorpions and rice towards him. The two ate in comfortable silence, seemingly forgetting all of their troubles just outside the door.

"How's the weather been lately?"

"Windy, you moron, like any other day."

Jura snorted into his food and Xin rolled her eyes. For a moment, he forgot that he was locked away. He felt calm, relaxed. Despite the questionable state of her sanity, Xin had a calming effect on him. He supposed that's what being in love with someone meant. The minute you saw their face, your worries were put to rest for the time being.

"Asuna worries for you, Kyohei and Genji."

"Does she know?"

"She does."

Jura paled considerably but said nothing. "What about Hatsune and Hideki? Do they know?" He asked quietly, hoping to God that Xin had been kind enough to spare his younger siblings.

Xin shrugged one shoulder. "I didn't mention it to them but I'm not sure if Asuna or Kankuro told them. I've spoken to Hideki, he's been acting out of sorts lately," she stated. He was aware of how much trouble Xin could get in. He wasn't exactly sure about Gaara's rules for withholding someone, but he was sure he wouldn't like his wife talking to a prisoner and informing them of what was going on outside their confinement. "He's been considering some nasty thoughts but I think I might have scared him away from those thoughts."

"Thoughts of killing Genji?"

"Ah, so he has spoken of such things before."

"Only once, before the Tower went up into flames. While you and Ukyo were sparring he told me he would kill Genji if it was found out he was cheating on her. I told him that he couldn't and he said Shinobi are trained to kill and that you threaten to kill people all the time. I asked him if you follow through on those threats and he said he wasn't sure but you do smell of flowers and old blood," Jura told her. Xin started to grin but quickly pinched her lips together at Jura's glare. "I told him that it didn't matter and that he could not kill Genji. He seemed put out by my words but didn't say anything else about it since."

"I do not smell of flowers and old blood, goddammit," Xin muttered with a slight pout. "That's besides the point, I guess. I spoke with him the other night and he claimed he would kill Genji for Asuna's mistreatment," Xin paused to grab the other bag, pulling two water bottles out. She set one in front of Jura and cracked the other one open. She took a long gulp and sighed heavily.

"What did you say to my little brother?"

Her eyes became glassy. "I told him who I really was. In our inner circle, we often joke of my vicious attitude but I don't think some of us realize that there is a little truth in every joke. I simply confirmed to him that I am exactly what we joke about. And I asked him: could he live like I did? Could he do it? Could he handle it?" it almost sounded like she was talking to herself and not to him. Jura watched her warily. For the first time, he felt that perhaps Xin didn't like who she was. Or, the role she played. She claimed she enjoyed it but he had a feeling that she simply forced herself to enjoy it because that's all she knew. She didn't know how to be normal. She knew how to kill, how to brutal and threatening. But did she like it?

She took a long breath and then smiled very gently. "I think I pushed him away from the path he was heading down. He's a good kid, I couldn't let him ruin himself. I couldn't let him turn into…."

"You?"

Her gentle smile twisted into a dejected smile instead. Slowly she nodded, "right, me. I couldn't let him turn into me."

"Thank you, Xin."

Again she nodded and said nothing more of Hideki. They continued their meal in silence. Only when they finished and she was gathering their trash in the bags did he speak again. "I'm sorry for what I told you the last time you were here."

"Hm?"

"How I feel towards you."

"Oh...ah, I'm sorry for hitting you. I know that's not how a girl should act but...I didn't know how to react."

"Did you hit Kazekage-sama when he confessed his feelings for you?"

She considered the question quietly and then shrugged. "I made the first move. It was hard to read Gaara back then and I assumed he might like me since he didn't try to kill me. One day I just jumped on him and kissed him. He kissed me back and boom, the rest is history," She told him with a simple shrug. She wondered if it was weird to talk to a man who had feelings for her about her husband.

Jura chuckled. "You two are an odd pair but I think you match."

"I think we do too," She grimaced through a smile. "I...I'm sorry, Jura. I won't betray my husband."

"I know you won't, Xin. I didn't expect you to. I'll never expect you too."

Xin's smile became less of a grimace. "Goodbye, Jura."

* * *

When Gaara came home that night, he found Xin in the kitchen. Temari was with her, helping her with whatever she was preparing for dinner. He noticed that while Temari pleasantly chattered away, Xin didn't offer much but small noises so that Temari knew she was listening. His wife didn't even notice when he made his presence known. His sister greeted him with a tight smile, eyes darting towards Xin. It was clear that she had taken notice of Xin's quiet mood. Setting the knife down, she gathered the chopped potatoes into a bowl and set them down with the rest of Xin's gathered ingredients. She slipped out of the kitchen without so much of a squeak.

He approached her back and Xin still didn't take notice of him. That was odd. She jumped when he slipped his arm around her waist, leaning in to kiss the side of her head. "O-Oh," She startled with wide eyes, finally breaking out of her quietness. "I didn't know you were home. Welcome home," She did nothing but pat his hand before turning her attention back to the cooking.

"Are you alright, Xin?"

"Of course I am, why does everyone keep asking that?"

"Because you're acting odd."

Xin took a deep breath and began wringing her hands together. "It's just been a long week, I suppose," Xin finally said with a tight frown. "I'm not used to dealing with….ah the repercussions," She told him, pulling hard at her fingers. He frowned at her, slightly confused by her words. "We aren't the only ones affected by the betrayal of the Mikawa brothers. I think they were what I could consider friends and it's just difficult seeing them the way they are right now. I feel guilty."

"Why?"

"I don't know, I just do. Maybe because I still plan on snapping Kyohei's neck when I see him."

"Xin…."

"I knoooooow. I'm not allowed near this mission. All I'm saying is that nine times out of ten, Kyohei and Genji will be dragged back here alive. You can do what you want to Genji."

"Thanks for the permission."

Xin finally cracked a smile at his dry retort and his shoulders relaxed. A smiling Xin was better than a frowning Xin. Wriggling out of his hold, she gathered the ingredients to dump into the large pot. He noticed she added a strong spice to the mix. He rolled his eyes, tomorrow they would have a Suna dish for dinner.

She busied herself with stirring the contents of the pot before sliding a lid over it. She twisted the dial of the timer and set it down before turning to look up at him. "Long day?" She prompted as he sunk down at the kitchen table. He grunted in confirmation and she moved to stand behind him. "It's always a long day, isn't it?" He could just hear the mirth in her smile. Her tiny hands slid over his shoulders, thin fingers digging into his taut muscles.

He nearly slumped forward while she worked the knots in his shoulders. "Christ, Gaara, with how tight you're wound, how do you move around? This isn't good for you at all," She chided in concern, hands running down his back. She found more knots and pushed at him until he was slightly draped over the table. Xin's brow knitted together as she worked and eased the tension from his back. "For Kaguya's sake…." She muttered softly, attacking the kinks and knots with vigor. By the time she was finished, her own hands were aching.

Despite the ache, her husband's shoulders weren't so tightly strung and the stiffness of his back had relaxed. His arms were crossed and pillowed his head. She took notice of his relaxed face, eyes softly closed. Smiling softly, she leaned further down, laying her chest against his back. Her hands worked around his torso, clasping together at his chest. She wasn't terribly comfortable but she couldn't find it in herself to ask him to sit up.

When he didn't wave her away, she turned her face into his neck, laying puckered lips against his flesh. He inhaled sharply but didn't object to the affections. She tightened her grip on him and slid her teeth over his skin, nibbling so softly that he barely noticed it. He hummed under her, one of his hands coming up to rest against her clasped hands. "Xin," his voice cut through the silence, warning her.

Xin stilled, slowly releasing his flesh from the confines of her teeth. "You're my husband. I'm allowed to kiss you."

"Do you remember the last time I kissed you?"

"You mean before the tower went up in flames? Yes I remember. It was nice."

"You nearly had a panic attack."

"Well excuse me for not knowing what to do. It's not like I was taught how to treat my husband."

Xin straightened up completely with a small huff. Gaara also sat up, chuckling in that gravelly way she adored. To her surprise, he held his arm out towards her. With slow steps, just in case he changed his mind, she rounded on him to stand in front of him. His face held slight amusement but his arm didn't falter.

Gingerly she sat herself down on his lap, wondering if maybe she weighed too much. Men often carried her over their shoulder or in their arms and they didn't complain about her weight. Well, they never complained to her face about her weight. Christ, what if her enormous ass crushed his legs?

Ready to jump off his lap, she was hindered when his arm wound tightly around her slim waist. "How to treat your husband isn't something that can be taught," He muttered softly, face pressed against her neck. Xin thought to push him away, after all, didn't he just give her a warning? When she opened her mouth to remind him of that, a giggle escaped instead. Slightly mortified that such a sound left her mouth, she blushed.

She felt his lips pull into a smirk against her throat. "Cute," He chuckled, fingers absently caressing her hip. Xin blushed even harder but smiled. She pulled away from him to stare down into his face, phantom eyes roving over the features that made up his face. It was almost like she was seeing him for the first time in a long time.

She thought to their progression as a couple. From their days to nearly killing each other to slowly sharing lunches together to worrying for one another and finally embracing one another. They had accepted each other and though it had been difficult, come to care for one another. When she was locked away in that disgusting cell with nothing but her spilled blood and twisted thoughts to keep her company, she had wondered if Gaara searched for her. If he cared that she was gone. She wondered if he would miss her.

And he did. He missed her and cared that she was gone. He searched for her and had acted irrational due to her lack of presence and due to her return, halfway at death's door.

"I love you," Xin suddenly confessed, eyes widening a half-second later. He stared back at her, eyes as wide as hers. The timer suddenly went off and Xin scrambled from his lap. From somewhere, probably the living room, they could hear Kankuro cheering for dinner. By the time his mind caught up with him, Xin was already dishing out dinner.

Temari and Kankuro could just feel the tense atmosphere but they weren't sure what had happened between the couple. They hadn't heard any screaming and nothing had been broken so it didn't seem like they were fighting. They glanced in between the two, noting that Xin kept her eyes glued to her food while Gaara kept his eyes glued to her face.

"Are you two alright?" Temari broke first, suspicious eyes darting between the two. Xin rolled her bottom lip into her mouth, biting the flesh hard as her face brightened. Gaara's stony face didn't change. "You're acting weird."

"I'm fine," Xin mumbled, eyes finding her food a little too fascinating. Gaara didn't bother to reply, not even bothering to break his stare. "Would you stop staring at me?" Xinhissed after realizing that his gaze still hadn't faltered.

"You can't take it back."

"Shut the fuck up, there's nothing to take back."

Gaara finally broke his stare, a slight quirk to the corner of his lips. Temari and Kankuro remained shrouded in confusion, clearly missing a key element in their brother's whacky marriage. Dinner was soon finished and surprisingly, Xin volunteered to help Kankuro with the dishes. Their surprise was obvious as Xin had established the kitchen rules when it came to cooking and cleaning the aftermath.

Nonetheless, she ended up at the sink with her older brother in law. It was silent between the two as she dunked the dirtied utensils, pot and dishes into the hot water. Kankuro blatantly stared as she began rinsing the dishes, taking whatever dish she handed to him to dry. "It's not like you to avoid something," Kankuro commented casually three minutes into the chore.

Xin's hands paused and he watched as she pressed her tongue to her teeth. "I'm not avoiding anything," Xin stated calmly, resuming her chore. Obviously she knew she was avoiding Gaara but hell if she was going to talk about what her stupid ass just admitted. And why would she even say such a thing? What did she know about being in love? What in God's name was wrong with her?

Kankuro snorted at her words and narrowly dodged out of the way when she jerked a knife at him. "No need to attack me, Jesus," Kankuro chided her. Xin only gave him a short look and shrugged one shoulder. "Whatever it is, I'm sure Gaara won't let it go. What'd you do now?"

Xin took a deep breath, eyebrows puckered. "I said something I shouldn't have said," She stated simply. There was no way she was going to tell her obnoxious brother what exactly she had said. He might have been older than her (ha, by just one measly year) but he often took the time to be immature, especially when it came to picking with her. She liked to believe that her relationship with Neji should have been similar.

Again, Kankuro snorted. "That's not a surprise. You have a tendency to just blurt shit out, probably your worst feature. I doubt we'll ever fix that, maybe it doesn't need to be fixed. It's one of the traits that makes you who you are," Kankuro stated, suddenly very serious. Xin only blinked up at him, slightly disturbed. "Anyway, like I was saying, you blurted some dumb shit out, I'm sure he's not mad with you. It seems that lately, you have my brother wrapped around your finger—which is kind of disturbing but Temari says it was bound to happen but I still think it's weird…"

Xin rolled her eyes at his babbling but smiled in amusement. "I didn't say anything to anger him. More so...it surprised him. It surprised me as well and I don't know exactly how to explain what I said to him…" She tried to describe her problem without telling him of her sudden declaration of love for his brother.

"Oh, well, it's not as bad as I thought then. Whatever you said you must have meant to say it, but you weren't expecting to say it suddenly, right? Just be truthful, that's all you know how to be anyway, why stop now? Why question it?"

Oddly enough, it sounded like he knew exactly what her big ass mouth had blurted out. She didn't know how to feel about the smile in Kankuro's dark eyes but she only nodded. "Right, you're right," She agreed with smiling lips. She looked up at him, head slightly tilted to the side. "Thank you, Kankuro. I suppose you aren't as stupid as I thought."

"Fuck you, Xin," despite his words, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder for a one-armed hug. She guessed her relationship with Gaara hadn't been the only relationship that had changed for the better over time.

She liked the thought of that.

* * *

Despite Kankuro's advice, Xin still felt her stomach twist as she showered. Gaara hadn't been in the room when she checked and she had quickly darted to the bathroom before he could pop out of the goddamn shadows to corner her. When she finally made her way to the bedroom, Gaara was nowhere to be found. It looked as she left it thirty minutes ago. Xin frowned, eyes searching the room for any clues but came up with nothing. Maybe she should just go to bed but her pressing need to know of his whereabouts forced her to turn around and venture downstairs.

Kankuro was nowhere to be found but Temari was in the living room. She was dressed for bed but every so often her eyes would wander to the front hall leading to the door. Xin watched from the bottom of the stairs quietly before finally deciding to approach the blonde. "Where's Gaara?" She asked as casually as possible. Temari's wandering gaze found her, blonde brow slightly quirked as Xin approached her. Xin settled on the opposite end of the couch, curling into it and dragging her legs up to press against her chest. She wrapped her arms around her knees.

"He had to return to the tower."

Xin scowled. "This late at night? Whatever it is couldn't have waited until morning?"

Temari almost smiled at the younger woman's words. "Nothing can ever wait until morning when you're a Kage," Temari commented simply, drumming her fingers against the couch. "It was the team sent on to Masahiro's hideout."

Xin's interest piqued, she raised both eyebrows, silently asking her question. Temari only shook her head. "I don't know what's going on but it didn't sound good," She revealed with a frown. Xin's shoulders stiffened but she didn't move. "But there's more pressing matters to attend to."

Xin looked a little more interested. What was more pressing than the results of the tracking mission? She hadn't even been aware that a team had been sent out already. Gaara really was doing everything he could to keep her away from this mission.

"What happened between the two of you?"

"I'm sorry?"

Temari rolled her eyes. "You're not deaf, you heard me. Now tell me what happened. You two were acting strange at dinner. And not the weird way you usually act around one another. This was like when you first came here. Tell me what happened."

Xin bit back a groan. "You're such a busy-body. And why do you even care? Isn't it kind of weird to have a girl talk about your brother?"

Temari shrugged a shoulder. "I'm the only one you can talk freely about this," She pointed out. Who else would talk to Xin about her marriage? Who else knew all the technical details? Who else knew it was really just an elaborate stunt? Knowing she was defeated, she shot the blonde a dirty look. Fine, she'd tell her about what happened but the moment Temari wrinkled her nose, she was gonna get the shit kicked out of her.

"I told him that I love him."

For a minute, nothing happened. And then Temari quirked a very slow brow. "You told him that you love him," She repeated just to make sure she heard right. Xin simply nodded, waiting for Temari's next words. "Well, do you?"

Well, she wasn't expecting that but she supposed it would make sense that his sister would ask that sort of question. Declaring your love for a man who hadn't ever felt loved was a big thing. She wouldn't have told him she did if she really didn't knowing that, would she? Even Xin couldn't be that cruel. "I…" Xin paused, seriously thinking it all over. "I don't think I would have said it if I didn't love him."

"So you do love him."

"I would think so."

Temari's eyes narrowed. "That's not good enough," She stated firmly, ignoring Xin's quiet huff. "You can't just tell him that and then say you think you do. You either do or you don't," Temari nearly snapped. Xin's lips pressed in agitation. This was exactly why she didn't want to talk about it. In a sense, she was like Gaara. She didn't know a thing about love, her childhood severally lacked it. But Temari wouldn't let up and she prodded a little more at Xin. "Do you or don't you? You can't just tell him that and then say you guess you do, that's cruel."

Xin could just feel that vein in her forehead twitching. "It's hard to explain. I was just looking at him and thinking about our relationship, how much it's progressed since the start and...it just came out," She explained, licking her lips almost nervously.

"Have you ever been in love before?" Temari suddenly asked, causing Xin to pause thoughtfully.

"No, I haven't. But I've had a crush before. But I don't think that really counts, does it?"

Temari let out a soft chuckle. "No, it's not. Being in love is stronger than just having a crush on someone."

"Do you have a crush on Shikamaru?"

Temari's face darkened, a red blush crawling up the back of her neck. "No, I don't have a crush on him."

"So you love him then?"

"I…"

"You don't know, right?" Xin leered at the blonde, quite satisfied. "Isn't it kind of hard to tell? Kind of hard to explain too, right?" it was Xin's turn to poke and prod at Temari. She did so with obvious glee.

"Shut up, Xin. This isn't about me, remember? I'm not married to Shikamaru—"

"Neither am I."

"Xin."

This time, Xin let out a trickle of giggles but nodded obediently. "I'll behave, I promise. This is about me, I get it. Me and my weird feelings for your stupid brother," She nodded her head, shifting a little into a more comfortable position.

"My stupid brother? He's your stupid husband," Temari commented, a grin cracking at her lips. It was quiet for just a moment before Temari broke it once more. "You know, when Jura brought you to us, you were delirious."

"Well, I did get the shit beaten out of me. Not to mention I was starved so…."

Temari's grin dropped but Xin only shrugged. "Well," Temari began, a tad bit uncomfortable with Xin's casual attitude towards her time away. "Loose lips sink ships," Temari simply stated, finding amusement in Xin's obvious confusion. She could just see the question forming in Xin's face—the fuck is that supposed to mean?

"Ukyo wanted me to keep you awake so I talked to you. You told me that you missed us and that you missed Gaara. You said one of your favorite things was Gaara's eyes," Temari began to explain, taking note of Xin's blushing face. "You told me he has very nice lips and you thought about him a lot. I didn't even know you had encountered the Shukaku at all."

"Yes, we're close," Xin joked blandly.

Temari rolled her eyes, clearly not finding any humor when it came to her brother's demon. "My point is, you obviously care a great deal for my brother since you wouldn't shut up about it. I know love is a foreign thing to you and we're often taught that it's a useless emotion that will only get in the way but it isn't so bad. It can't be," Temari insisted, intent on making Xin see things differently. Xin, however, did not respond. "You don't have to be embarrassed, Xin. Love isn't the enemy."

"What if he doesn't feel the same way?"

Temari paused, staring intently at the younger woman. So it wasn't the fact that she admitted her feelings towards him, it was just she feared he wouldn't feel the same way towards her. It had always been her fear. She didn't deserve his kindness, not with the blood staining her hands. How could she hope someone like him would really look past what she is?

"You have so much doubt in yourself," Temari commented with low eyes. Not that Temari could blame her. She had done a lot of terrible things, most of them were probably unforgivable. But looking into Xin's young face, Temari felt that maybe she was wrong. She was just a kunoichi following orders. "I think Gaara is willing to look past it all, everything you've done. We're not all innocent, after all. We've all done things we most likely regret in the past. You can't be the only one held accountable. If that's the case, none of us deserve to be happy. What if he does feel the same way, then what?"

"I...I don't know."

"Then you two can just be happy."

Xin rolled her eyes, sighing. "I don't think it's that easy, Temari. It's an easy thing to say and easy to decide but when you haven't lived a good life….you just don't expect the Gods to smile upon you all of a sudden." Xin pointed out almost sadly. Temari allowed the words to sink in, finding some truth in it. The Gods were odd beings but they had kept Xin alive this long for some reason.

"I never thought you were the religious type. You take the Gods' names in vain too much," Temari commented, knowingly baiting the younger woman.

A slow smile crept across Xin's face. "Fuck off," She snorted while shifting until she was stretched out on the couch. She shoved Temari's hands away and placed her head in the blonde's lap.

"Such a spoiled," Temari pinched Xin's ear, smirking when she whined. "Vulgar little brat. My goodness, my baby brother married such a woman," She grinned down at Xin when she tried to wave her hand away. The younger woman rolled her eyes, sometimes Temari could be so childish. Which was shocking because she was supposed to be the oldest one, the most mature.

"I think I just told you to fuck off, didn't I?" Xin asked sourly, huffing when Temari let out an amused chuckle.

"Will you take care of him for me?"

Xin blinked, looking up at the blonde. "For you? Temari, we literally live in the same house. What will I do that you can't do for him?"

"Love him the way a wife loves a husband."

"That's not what I meant and you know it," Xin huffed while trying to stave away a blush. "You make it sound like you're planning on leaving," Xin pointed out with a look of disbelief. Temari said nothing but hummed quietly. Xin squinted up at her, one brow quirking. "But you're not, right?"

"No, I suppose not," Temari smiled a smile that reminded Xin of a sly fox.

"You're fuckin' weird."

"Shut the hell up."

* * *

"Oi, I got some more—Jesus Christ!"

Jura was slumped over the table with a puddle of blood under him. Baki stood over him impassively, arms folded across his broad chest. Xin dropped the bag of takeout, not giving a damn that it spilled all over the floor and rushed to the table. "What the fuck?" She exclaimed, nearly slipping on the puddle of blood. "Baki, are you blind?! He's bleeding, why haven't you called for medical attention! Fuck me, look how deep this wound is! Move!"

Before she could even try to gather enough Chakra in her hands, Baki grabbed her by the shoulder. As if she weighed nothing more than a piece of paper, he yanked her away from Jura's prone form. "I didn't call for medical attention because I don't need it," Baki stated simply.

"Clearly you don't need it! You're not the one dying right now!" Xin snapped hotly, her temper suddenly exploding. What in the fuck was wrong with Baki?

"My Lady," Baki caught her around the waist when she tried to hurry back towards Jura. Baki was giving her the most evil look she'd ever seen on his face. It stopped her in her tracks, looking at him with her face twisted up into confusion.

Xin grabbed at his arm, digging her nails into his sleeve. "Just tell me what's going on, Baki. Why are you trying to kill him? He's done nothing wrong! He's been locked down here the entire time, what is the meaning of this?"

Baki's expression morphed into cool indifference once more. "He gave us incorrect coordinates. The team sent to retrieve Genji and Kyohei was slaughtered. Only one survivor."

The woman's face lost any color that it could have possibly possessed. She slowly turned to Jura, lips parted slightly. "But...how can that be?" Xin asked stupidly. Baki scowled harshly and she faltered under his gaze, suddenly feeling guilty. "Let me talk to him, Baki."

"I don't think—"

"Let me talk to him."

Against his better judgement, Baki silently agreed. He let her go and she moved towards the table. "Twenty minutes, Xin," He told her sternly. She only nodded obediently and he stepped out, closing the door behind him.

Xin settled down across from Jura but said nothing for a long time. The little woman tapped her nails against the tabletop for a couple of minutes, trying to figure out a plan of action. "You gave false coordinates."

Jura shifted, slowly sitting up despite the gushing wound in his side. His face was bruised and puffy but he didn't seemed too bothered by it. "I gave false coordinates."

She frowned softly. "I see. Why?" She pressed for answers. Jura didn't say anything and Xin sighed. This was the last thing she wanted to deal with. Planning on threatening and killing Kyohei and Masahiro and the rest of their idiotic following was easy. Jura, on the other hand, was supposed to be her best friend. "Jura, are you going to make me hurt you? I've had a long week and hurting you wasn't on my agenda."

"But you would?"

She shrugged apathetically. "If I have to. People are dead, innocent people. There's a psycho out there planning on killing my husband and possibly me, so, it's not like I can just let that happen."

Jura let out a loud sigh. "I don't think there's much you can do when it comes to torturing me. I mean, as you can see, Baki was going pretty hard and I still haven't said anything…."

She tapped my nails against the tabletop a little harder. "I'll call Baki in here and ask him to bring your siblings here. And Ukyo, can't forget her, right?" She hummed casually. Jura squinted at her but Xin just smiled sweetly. "I'll kill them in front of you, Jura. None of them are a match for me," Xin stated simply, watching his eyes widen. "I'd kill Hatsune first, drag her in here by her hair, slam her head down on the table, probably break the leg off of this chair and beat her in the head until she stops moving," She started to explain. "Cut her head off and set it right in front of you…."

"Xin….."

"I'd probably suffocate Hideki. He wouldn't put up much of a fight, no one to be concerned with. Now Ukyo, she's someone to worry about but I think I can handle her. Tie her down and slit her wrists, let her bleed for a little, slit her neck and then hang her upside down so she slowly but surely drains…"

"Please stop….."

"And then we have Asuna left! Now see, I might let her live since she is pregnant and all. But the death of her family might just drive her insane, I mean she already has to deal with Kyohei and Genji…."

"Xin, please."

Xin got up and slapped the table completely out of the way. It smashed into the wall but luckily didn't break. "Then tell me what I want to know! Tell me the fuckin' truth or I swear to God I'll slaughter all of them and make you drink their blood, do you hear me? There will be so much goddamn blood, you'll bathe in that shit! And if you think I'll stop there, ha, you have another fuckin' thing coming!"

She leaned in, veins around her eyes erupting and pulsing. "I will not stop there. I will hunt your damn brother down and I will drag his, Genji and Minori's little scrawny asses back here to this very room and murder them in front of you. I'll stomp Minori's fuckin' head in and smear her brain matter all over these damn walls. I will beat the shit out of Genji, break every bone in his body and let him slowly succumb to whatever kills him first. And Kyohei, oh sweetheart, I'm going to drag his entrails across this room. I'm going to cut him open and I'm going to take some very important things out of him. And I'm going to sew him back up and see how long he lasts. And I will tell him that it's all because of you. Your family will die because of you."

Jura was staring back at her with wide eyes. "You….really are a monster," He suddenly said with nearly trembling lips. "All this time...I thought maybe you've changed your ways, calmed down a little but….you're a wolf in sheep's clothing…"

Xin tilted my head to the side, smiling in insane amusement. "Oh, Jura," She cooed while cupping his face. "Don't you understand?" She caressed his jaw almost lovingly and leaned in so close her lips nearly brushed his. "There's only one reason I'm here," her nails pressed into his face, nearly drawing blood. Her twisted smile stretched, baring her teeth at him.

"I'm here to wreak havoc."

* * *

There's blood staining her hands, he noticed almost immediately. She was sitting at the kitchen table with a haunted look in her eyes. He slowly sat down next to her but said nothing. Quietly, she pushed a plate of food towards him. Gaara eyed the plate of food for a good minute before his eyes strayed back to her hands. "Did you cook with blood on your hands?"

A very slow smile crept across her lips. She chuckled lowly and shook her head. "I didn't cook. It's takeout. Ukyo went and got it for me."

He was relieved that she hadn't gone out to a public place of business with bloodstained hands.

"Is it Mikawa's blood?"

"Yes."

"Is he dead?"

"No," Xin answered blankly. Gaara nodded slowly, taking several minutes to quietly chew his food and think of his next set of questions. But Xin beat him to it. "Baki relayed the information to you?"

"Yes, although I'm not sure we can trust Mikawa's word anymore."

"I think it's safe to say we can trust it this time."

"What makes you so sure?"

Xin shifted, lifting her bloody fingers to play with a lock of her hair. "I threatened to kill his entire family in front of him if he lied again," She didn't look proud of the revelation but she also didn't seem ashamed with it either.

The kitchen was quiet as the two stared at one another. Xin's gaze was bluntly unapologetic and although Gaara wanted to be furious with her, he couldn't deny that she had gotten the information that was needed. Still, he didn't want to seemingly reward her for that information when she threatened an entire family to get it.

"I thought we were working on being a better person."

"Would you love me if I was a better person?"

Gaara met her gaze with one of his own that clearly showed his displeasure. "I realized something when I was talking to him," Xin said before he could answer her odd question. "I can try all I want to be a better person and I may even succeed for a while but….I'll always go back to my wicked ways. I realized that when I threatened to kill them and meant it."

"So you think I won't love you if you aren't a better person?" Gaara asked after her words finally hit home. A bout of frustration hit him. He was starting to get sick of her 'I'm a monster, you can't love me for who I am' bullshit. It was getting old. Who the hell was she anyway to decide something like that for him?

Xin's face twisted and she drew into herself. "I..I don't want to have this conversation," She muttered sullenly while standing. "I'm gonna go shower and go to bed…" She told him, hurrying out of the kitchen before he could stop her.

Gaara growled at her retreating back but decided to let her go. It was not the end of their conversation though. With that in mind, he packed the takeout back up and stored it away in the fridge. He waited until he could hear the shower running before venturing up to their room. Her shower was a quick one because she came bustling in only seconds after him. She paused at the door, frowning softly before closing it. "Don't you have some important document to look over?" She mumbled with that same sullen attitude.

"It's not like you to mope," He pointed out, trying very hard to ignore her flimsy towel. Xin huffed and hurried to their closet, water dripping from the tips of her hair. She kept a deathlike grip on her towel like she feared it would just drop on its own at any moment. "Why are you convinced that I can't love you?" He asked, watching as her back stiffened. "You aren't the only one who's killed. What makes you so different?"

When she didn't react, Gaara was sure she was going to leave it at that. But she suddenly whipped around, nearly losing her towel in her haste. "Don't you get it?" Her face broke up. "I'm...I tried to be a better person for you, Gaara. But I can't and honestly, I probably don't want to! And don't try to tell me it's okay, that I'm okay the way I am because I know I'm not! I threatened to kill the Mikawa family, they're literally innocent and I meant every word I said. And...and...Jura is my best friend and I just had to wash his blood off my hands and I don't even care!" Xin thundered out, pitched voice coming out in strangled screeches.

Gaara waited until she was taking steadying breaths to approach her. He did so in a slow manner, wary of her mental breakdown. Her eyes were wide, nearly resembling the moon with their color and size. Her grip on the edge of the towel tightened considerably.

"You...you just don't understand, Gaara. I would do anything for you. Do you know how dangerous that it is? I'd burn an entire village down for you, all you have to ask and I'd do it for you," She began to spit rapid fire, her lips struggling to form the words. "I was prepared to hate you. I was going to hate you for the rest of my life, my dying breath would have been filled with hate for you. I was determined to make this marriage miserable. But noooooo, when does anything ever go my way!?" Xin threw her hands up, not taking any notice of her towel slipping a bit down her chest.

"Stop shouting," Gaara stated smoothly, hands reaching out to grip at her towel. Her face darkened almost instantly and tried to slap his hands away. Xin looked almost flabbergasted at his simple command. "You're acting crazy and you're naked. So calm down and put some clothes on," He tried to make it sound less like an order and more like a helpful suggestion but her face screwed up almost angrily.

"That's not the point!"

Gaara rolled his eyes at her behavior. This wasn't supposed to turn into an argument but of course, anything that has something to do with Xin turns out to be rather difficult. "Xin, you fuckin' harpy, I don't care!" He snapped in her face. "You're not the only one with blood on your hands so stop acting like you're the worst person in the world. It's getting old."

Xin recoiled like she'd been slapped or burned. She blinked rapidly, clearly confused. "...Stop calling me a harpy all of the time!" She suddenly snapped, throwing him for a loop. Out of anything to comment on, she chose the name calling. "And...and don't tell me what to do either," She muttered, pouting almost childishly.

Gaara let go of her towel, watching it slip even further down her chest. "Well stop screaming all the time and I wouldn't call you that—fix your towel—and someone needs to tell you what to do because if not, then you do stupid things. Now stop trying to change the subject—and pull your towel up—so we can talk about this like adults."

Xin huffed heavy sigh, the motion of her chest heaving disturbed her towel even further. "There's nothing to really talk about. I'm in love with you, that's all there is to love," She stated while steadily avoiding his eyes.

"I've never been in love," He pointed out almost quietly. She chuckled softly.

"Neither have I," She also pointed out. "I know you've never been in love. It's kind of obvious with all the females following you around like dogs in heat and you being terribly oblivious to them. But, you know, it's okay. I can love you enough for the both of us, until you do love or you decide you don't want to love me."

"What happens if I decide not to love you?"

Xin's eyes lowered, eyelashes fluttering. "Well, then you decide not to love me. I can't force to you fall in love with me but I do think I want you to fall in love, at least. It's scary but it's nice at the same time. I mean, scary because you know, I'd murder someone for you but nice because simple things like just seeing your stupid face makes me happy."

"If it makes you happy, why were you so against it?"

Her hand came up, rubbing the back of her neck almost sheepishly. "Because I'm convinced I don't deserve it but that's besides the point right now," She scratched a little harder at her neck and absently pulled her towel up. It slid back down. "Lately I've been hoping that what I said all those months ago could be wrong. Maybe we can be happy and maybe we can be in love and Temari says it's possible but…."

"You talked to Temari about this?"

"It's not like I can talk to my own sisters about this," She muttered blankly. "Or anyone, for that matter. Besides Kankuro or Baki. Something tells me that neither of them would appreciate having a girl talk with me," Xin grinned sardonically. "Hell, I don't even want to have girl talks. They're kind of gross and I feel like I need to hug Temari or something girly when we're finished."

Gaara watched as she fiddled and fumbled over her words, taking note of her red face. It was always odd to see Xin act so...feminine. He grunted when she looked at him and reached out, drawing his arms around her waist to bring her closer. She let out a squawk and nearly clawed at his chest but stopped once she realized what he was doing. "I'm not going to say something stupid like 'teach me how to love'," He said once she settled against him. Her arms slid lazily around his neck, nails idly scratching at his skin. She smiled very slowly, a languid pull of her plump lips.

"Love isn't something you teach, stupid," Xin snorted. "It's something you just feel."

"Baki said something similar once, when I was younger."

"Baki is a wise man."

"Until he disagrees with you."

"Which he rarely does."

The smell of flowers, stale blood and moonlight (how she could smell of moonlight baffled him but that's the only way to describe it) assaulted his nose but he leaned in closer. She always had that lingering smell of death clinging to her skin but there's always traces of that flower, of moonbeams, trapped underneath her skin. And he likes it, blood and moon and all.

Gaara didn't really know what else to other than kiss her. It was probably cruel to do so, she did just admit that she was in love with him and he hadn't said it back to her. He nearly said the opposite. At this point, he was taking advantage of her feelings, leading her down a road of possibilities but not confirming anything.

But Xin didn't seem to mind when she leaned up on the tips of her toes to lay kisses on and around his mouth. He couldn't resist her, not even if she had her hands dipped in the blood of his village. Not even if she had those fingers wrapped around his throat.

Speaking of those fingers, her nails dug into his skin while her lips dusted teasingly over his. "I love you," She breathed softly, painting the words into his skin, tattooing them into his veins. Carving those three simple words into the deepest parts of his mind, scarring into his heart.

He didn't say it back, she knew he wouldn't. For a moment, the little spark in her eyes dimmed but she smiled anyway. Continued to pepper his faces with heavy kisses despite the lack of reply to her declaration. It was truly ironic how things had turned out. He, like Xin, had been convinced she would be forever miserable in their union. Even if they somehow managed to find common ground (which he supposed they did) she would always be miserable knowing she'd been forced into something for the sake of his image and not for peace or love. He never expected Xin to actually admit being in love with him, let alone accepting such a thing.

But he pushed those thoughts to the side because she smelled of moonbeams, flowers and blood and her skin was devilishly supple and her lips were sinfully soft. And she was his. His, his, his.

The towel slipped, dropping to nearly her hips but she didn't bother to fix it and neither did he. She did, however, pull away to look down at her state of undress. Again, she smiled and fixed her arms around his neck once more. It was up to him where they would go from here. A slight squeal escaped her mouth in the second that it took her to realize that she was now pressed against the bedroom door. The towel was torn away from her hips, her last line of modesty completely gone but if she cared, she didn't say so. In fact, her arms around his neck tightened and she teetered on the tips of her toes to kiss him.

"Take...take it off," Xin mumbled through the kisses, one hand dropping to the hemline of his shirt. She yanked at it, only getting it halfway up his stomach before he briefly let her go to swipe the damn thing off entirely. Xin hummed in approval, nails scraping down his chest. Xin shifted her hips first, grinding them against his with a shudder. The material of his pants chafed against her and even though it was kind of nice, she also wanted his pants off. Off, off, off.

Like his shirt, she pushed at his pants. "Gaara," Xin hissed when she realized his pants were still clinging to his hips. She could see the beginning of his pelvic bone and she swore to God her mouth watered. Xin had never bothered with the thought of her first time. It wasn't something that was important to her. Lena had insisted it would be painful as fuck. Ino claimed it would be the best thing ever, the pain would be worth it. Tsunade had mumbled that it was fun but the men weren't always worth it.

It hurt like fuck. God, it hurt. Admittedly, she probably would have been more comfortable if she'd been in the bed when he decided to just penetrate her. But, when did they ever do things right? No, she lost her virginity pressed against a door with her legs wrapped tightly around him.

Her head reeled back and she blinked hard, a startled gasp breaking past her lips. "It hurts," She admitted, slightly irritated that she just couldn't take the pain. She was supposed to be much stronger than that. Of all things that could take her down, it was having sex with her husband. Ironic.

Gaara stilled against her, muscles straining from the mind-numbing pleasure she was causing him. Despite his obvious pleasure, he could see from Xin's scrunched up face that she felt different. "Should.." He leaned forward, pressing his face into neck. "Should I stop?" He shifted only slightly but it was enough to send her into pain, feeling as if a fire was eating at her core.

Yes, he should stop. Jesus fucking Christ, he needed to stop. How any girl could like this sort of thing was beyond her. When the fuck was it supposed to feel good?

"Noo," She managed to wheeze out. Shit, she was a glutton. "It's supposed to hurt but...can we...um…use the bed?" Xin could just feel her face getting hot. So he settled his hands under her firmly and carried her to the bed like she weighed nothing more than a piece of paper. The fire eating at her was scorching now but by the time she was settled in the cool sheets (god that felt nice against her heated flesh) it had dulled down into a throb.

She sighed when he settled over her once more, caging her under him. "Much better," She sighed in content, despite the dull throb. His fingers tangled in her mess of hair as he tried to wait patiently for her to get comfortable enough. Xin's fingers flexed and pressed against his shoulders as she experimented with moving her hips. Despite the twinge of pain, a coil of pleasure tightened in the pit of stomach and she suddenly moaned into his ear.

He gripped at the sheets as she experimented with her hips, slightly pulling at the strands of hair tangled around his fingers. Her own fingers danced across the expanse of his shoulders, nails slightly digging into his flesh when she twisted just right. The pain didn't go away, it was still there, although considerably less apparent. That was good enough, she supposed. She just had to deal with it. Like dealing with an enemy while a Kunai is hilt-deep in her side. She could do that.

Gaara shifted, sliding deeper into her, stretching her to her very limit. Her eyebrows puckered together and she let out an odd mix of a moan and a whimper. He started at a slow pace, giving her ample time to get used to the very thick intruding member. Her breathing became a little more rapid at the pace, turning from pained whines into pleasures sighs. It was nice, it sent waves of pleasure through his own body, causing his moans and grunts to mingle in with hers. But it wasn't….enough.

Maybe she knew or maybe she felt the same way because Xin brought her legs up, securing them tightly around his waist. "Faster," She managed between strained breaths.

And that's all she had to say.

The bed creaked under them, the headboard lightly tapped at the wall but if either of them realized it, they completely ignored it. Xin's eyes slid shut and she bucked her hips against his, trying to master the pace he was keeping. He gripped tightly at her thighs with enough force to leave lingering bruises. "Oh," Xin blinked owlishly, feeling something coil in the lower area of her stomach. "Oh, oh…" the feeling twisted tighter before springing apart, coupled with a shrilled shriek and deep groan.

And then it was over.

Xin blinked owlishly again, sweaty and hot. "Gaara," She shifted under him. "You're suffocating me, get off," She spoke into his chest. Gaara did so slowly, grunting and grumbling while settling next to her. It was quiet between them before a giggle broke past Xin's lips. "I think we might have done that wrong," She said between giggles, face flustered.

"How so?" Gaara asked sleepily. Xin nearly rolled her eyes. Typical male behavior. She reached over and punched his arm, smirking when he glared at her.

"I think more foreplay is supposed to be involved and you weren't very gentle, seeing as how it was my first time. And we were arguing beforehand so it wasn't very romantic."

Gaara eyed her blankly. "I didn't satisfy you?"

Xin only huffed. "Don't make sex sound like a business deal or something. And that's not what I'm saying. I'm just saying it wasn't what I expected."

"Do you regret it?"

"Of course not. I live with no regrets."

Gaara nodded thoughtfully and threw his arm over her. He pulled her body over his, chuckling when she flailed and squeaked. His hold on her tightened and he buried his face into her chest. Xin's legs hung over him and she idly wriggled her toes while he got comfortable. "Then we have done nothing wrong. Perhaps we rushed into it but if you enjoyed it then that's all that matters," Gaara told her, basking in her soft breasts and warmth. Xin mulled over his words and nodded slowly.

"Does that mean we'll have sex again?" She asked with a mischievous glint in her eyes. Gaara cracked one eye open to look at her with the same glint.

"That's a stupid question."

The woman mockingly rolled her eyes. "Whatever, now let me go. I'm naked and cold and if either of your siblings open the door, they're gonna see something they have no business seeing."

Gaara let her go with a laugh.

* * *

"Xin, what the hell is wrong with you? You've been walking funny all day."

"Shut the fuck up, Kankuro."

* * *

TeeBeMe:...well. It's been awhile. Sorry for taking so long but I kept hitting a block every time I came to this chapter. It got so bad that I started working on chapter 22 while this one was left unfinished. And then I got fucked up by that chapter and started to write 23 while 21 and 22 just sat idle. Luckily, 22 is pretty much finished, it just needs to be edited so it'll most likely be up before 2016 ends. Yay.

Anyway, I know you guys are probably like, whys the lemon so short, Tee? The fuck. Well, see, here's what I figured. Xin and Gaara are both starved of love, affection and sex so when it actually comes down to their first time, they kind of just rush right into it because they don't know what else to do. And besides, Xin isn't going to be all into it if it's her first time, it hurts like fuck. But no worries, practice does make perfection.

I wrote this chapter with the song 'Wreak Havoc' by Skylar Grey in mind. It was written for Suicide Squad, specifically Harley Quinn, who to me, kind of resembles Xin. Not the whole abusive relationship she has with the Joker, that sucks and it kind of irks me that so many people romanticize it, but just her personality. Well, this Harley is a lot like Xin.

And another thing, have any of you ever imagined what Xin's voice sounds like? Like, when you read from her point of view or whatever she's saying, what does she sound like to you? Personally, I've always liked the English voice actress for Sango from InuYasha. I also liked the English voice actress for Lum Invader in the second Urusei Yatsura but that voice might too soft. My friend suggested Revy from Black Lagoon.

As for her Japanese voice, I think Lei-Fang from the Dead or Alive video game series fits. Asuka Kazaama from Tekken fits her, I think. I dunno, this is the type of shit I think about at one in the morning.

anyway, as always, thanks for sticking with me. Read, review, favor, follow, all that good stuff and I'll see you next chapter.


	22. You and I go hard at each other

"Oh, he is the worst! You hear me?! The absolute fuckin' worst!"

Ukyo watched in bland amusement as I stormed around the kitchen, throwing things violently into their place. "That piece of shit! Who the fuck does he think he is?!"

"Your husband."

"So that gives him the right to ban me from this meeting?!"

"He is also the Kazekage and if I'm not mistaken, _that _gives him the right."

I scowled angrily and looked at her. "Oh, who asked you anyway?"

"You did, Sensei."

"For the love of fuck, whose side are you on?"

Ukyo grinned as I shoved some fish into the deep freezer. I muttered angrily to myself, ignoring the young girl. I heard a sudden angry knock from the front door. Before I could hurry down the hall, Ukyo was already on it. I closed the lid of the deep freezer and sighed heavily, head hanging down. I felt a sudden urge of angry chakra and felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. A second later Ukyo was shouting and I spun around, catching Hatsune's wrist. The Kunai she was holding glinted dangerously in the light. "Uh, hi?"

Hatsune bared her teeth at me and I pumped chakra into my hand, crushing her wrist. She let out a shriek and dropped the blade. I dropped her wrist only to punch her in the face. She held her face in surprise and I took my chance, grabbing her and spinning around once more. I bent her over the freezer and held her down. "Not that I don't enjoy these little moments of ours and everything," I drawled lazily as she began to struggle. Ukyo hurried to my side, frowning.

"Sensei, be serious for once…"

"Who says I'm not? That's the problem with you all, you never think I'm serious. Anyway," I turned to look down at Hatsune. "What's the big idea? Coming into my home and attacking me? What's up with that? At least buy me a drink first."

Hatsune suddenly sprang up, throwing me backwards. "You carnivorous bitch!" Hatsune screeched, swinging around and catching my shoulder with her foot. I stumbled to the side but ignored the throb now radiating from my damn shoulder.

"Carnivorous?" I scowled, ducking under another wild kick. Ukyo stumbled backwards out of the way with a grimace.

"It means flesh-eating, Sensei."

"Ah, of course," I hummed blandly. Hatsune swiped her kunai back up and slashed almost wildly at me. "Honestly, can we talk about this? I've had a long day and the last thing I need right now is a hormonal teenager swinging a blade at me."

"Fuck you!" Hatsune screamed in my face. I gritted my teeth in annoyance, very fed up with everything right now. I caught her by the wrist again and this time, twisted it until something snapped.

Hatsune went down screaming. Ukyo slapped her forehead and groaned. She shot me the stink eye. I pouted at her stare. "What? She was swinging a Kunai at me and wouldn't calm down, what was I supposed to do?"

"She's not calming down now, is she?"

"No but at least she's not trying to stab my eye out. Heal her wrist and calm her down. I'm gonna take a shower. I'll be back."

By the time I came back, Hatsune had been taken care of. She sat at the kitchen table looking horribly sullen. Ukyo was trying to gently coax her into talking but Hatsune wouldn't budge. Rolling my eyes, I caught her other wrist in my hand. "Use your words before I break your other wrist and rip your voice box out," I threatened with an evil sneer. Hatsune paled and Ukyo sighed heavily. "I told you, it's been a long day and I'm running out of patience. Explain."

Hatsune gritted her teeth and snatched her wrist away. "Where's my brothers, huh?! Where are they? I _know _you've got something to do with this! Tell me what you've done with them you psychotic bitch!"

"Kay, sure, _I'm _the psychotic bitch when _you're_ the one who came in here screaming like a banshee and waving a weapon around."

"You broke my wrist!"

"You tried to stab me in the face!"

"_GIRLS!"_

Our attention snapped towards Ukyo. She didn't look pleased. I huffed, hoping she'd spare the speech she'd spouting out lately. I turned my eyes back on Hatsune, scowling. "Listen here, Princess, unless Gaara tells you, I know shit about your brothers, alright? And why assume I have anything to do with it anyway?"

Hatsune glanced at Ukyo and frowned softly. Slowly her eyes slid back towards me, taking on a more dark look. "Because ever since you showed up, nothing has been right."

"Hatsune-chan, that's not—"

"No, Ukyo! You know it's true, nothing has been right since she showed up. My family has been torn apart, Kazekage-sama barely pays any mind to Matsuri-chan anymore and your brother is dead!"

Out of reflex, I almost punched Hatsune in the mouth. The muscles in my arm quivered and I turned slow eyes to Ukyo. "You think that's my fault?" I asked quietly. "You think it's my fault Usui is dead?"

Ukyo looked pale enough to be dead. I looked in between the two, offended and confused. "Go on, tell her, Ukyo. Tell her how you cry at night because you miss him so bad but can never say it because she insists you have to be strong. You have to be a kunoichi and kunoichi don't cry. Tell her. Tell her about the nightmares, tell her that you're afraid to _become _her! Tell her!"

I almost punched her again but held back. I remembered the last conversation I had with Jura, about Hideki not becoming me. Jura thanking me for steering his brother onto a different path than mine. It...hurt. It hurt knowing Jura didn't want his little brother to be like me but I suppose I could understand the concern. I was a nut job. But it always seemed like Ukyo was the most accepting, besides the Sand Siblings. Maybe not accepting but politely indifferent. But to know that she was like the others, afraid that my influence would turn her into me, it...hurt. Badly.

"You want to know the truth so badly, huh?" I asked with raised eyebrows. "Your brothers are criminals now, they've gone against Suna and will be dealt with accordingly, meaning death," I started to say with a languid gaze. "Matsuri needs to get the hell over herself and grow the fuck up. Gaara paid her attention because she needed a mentor, not because he ever entertained feelings for her. She's not his type. Know why? Cuz' she doesn't have the guts to kill someone. She's a pacifist, isn't she? How could a pacifist understand Gaara?" I scoffed.

Hatsune looked like she would throw up. "And you," I turned my eyes on my student. "Do _not_ try to put the death of your brother on my shoulders. I tried to save to him. I went and screamed and cursed at Gaara for sending your team on whatever mission he died on. I cried for that boy. _You _were the one who couldn't get yourself together to save him or Hideki, for that matter. If you want to get technical here, it's _your _fault he's dead. So don't try placing the blame on me."

Their eyes were wide and quickly filling with tears but I couldn't bring myself to care. Not this time. Gaara and I might have finally reached a breakthrough in our relationship but everyone else still felt the same around me.

God, I just wanted to set them all on fire.

"Well, you've got your information, don't you?" I folded my arms across my chest. "Now run along and do whatever little brats do. I've wasted enough time," I waved Hatsune away. And maybe Ukyo. I'm not sure. I don't know how I felt for the young girl. We were supposed to spend the afternoon memorizing medical herbs but I'm not sure if the girl would stick around.

I'm not sure if I wanted her to.

Hatsune left silently, leaving Ukyo behind. I turned away from her and rolled my eyes, not really good with silence. Instead I busied myself with making a cup of coffee. Ukyo said nothing the entire time. Armed with my mug, I slowly turned around to face Ukyo. Fat tears were sliding down her face and I hid my grimace by taking a large gulp of coffee. It burned like fuck but I relished in the distraction. "You're afraid to become like me, hm?" I asked before I could stop myself. It left a bitter taste in my mouth. "What's so bad about me, Ukyo?"

"Sensei, I—"

"Tell me."

Ukyo's lips thinned out in agitation. "You're insane. Like everyone says. You're insane and brutal and dangerous."

"And what's wrong with that?"

"It's not…..right."

"And what is?" I tilted my head to the side. "We're ninja, we kill for a living. What makes you so different from me? If you haven't killed, you eventually will."

"The difference is you enjoy it!"

My face drew into a blank as I stared at her over the rim of my mug. "I enjoy it," I hummed quietly, nodding my head to her words. Did I enjoy it? Did I enjoy it as much as I used to? It was hard to tell. I hadn't really killed anyone in a long time. I'd spent the last couple of weeks throwing around threats but I had no blood on my hands as of late. "What do you enjoy about being a kunoichi?"

Ukyo's face bunched in confusion, probably expecting something completely different . She visibly struggled with an answer but I stayed quiet and waited. "I like being helpful towards my village."

I idly stared into my mug, rolling her words around in my head. "So did I. My village knew how much I wanted to be of use to them and they used me any way they saw fit. Unfortunately I was really good at battles," I started to say, slowly crossing the kitchen towards her. "You think I started out like this? Like some maniac? You think I just started out as a murderous Genin or Chunin? I just woke up one morning and told myself I would like it?"

Ukyo backed away but I kept coming, "Well guess again! Konoha used me and used me until all I knew how to do was kill! Don't you dare think I just do this for shits and giggles!" I didn't stop until I had her backed against the counter. Of course my height was nothing to fear but that didn't stop me from exuding an intimidating aura. I had to learn how to make up for my pathetic height.

"And don't, for a second, think Suna won't use you like they used me. They'll use you up until you have nothing left but your life and you think they need that? Ha! Not at all, you're expendable like I'm expendable!"

Ukyo's tears were gushing down her face at an alarming rate but that didn't stop me. "My village _made _me this way. So don't turn your nose up at me and think you're better. Suna will fuck you up like Konoha fucked me up. It's what they do."

I twisted around suddenly, hurrying back over to the coffee pot. "Take the books about herbs and study them. Actually, do what you want. Wouldn't want to corrupt you any longer then I have," I waved her away with bitterness laced into my words. Maybe it was childish to disown her as my student but if she was afraid of becoming me, why force my company on her?

I heard soft sniffles before her footsteps carried her away. The front door didn't slam shut like I assumed, it closed softly with a click. I stared blankly at the counter. My eyes started to freakishly itch but I gritted my teeth and blinked the itchiness away. I slammed the mug down.

It shattered.

* * *

"All I'm saying is that I'm the one who dragged the information out of him so _clearly _I should go on the mission this time," I huffed as I followed after Gaara.

He glanced back at me for a quick second before turning his attention forward again. "You don't even know if that information is right," Gaara pointed out dryly. Again, I huffed.

"Well if it's not, I'm beating his sister's brains out in front of him," I stated blandly with a shrug. Gaara jerked to a sudden stop and I ran face first into his back. "Ugh," I whined, rubbing my nose. For shit's sake, his back felt like a damn tree.

A gaggle of old ladies giggled and twittered as I rubbed my nose. Gaara turned around, lifting his arm over my head to settle across the small span of my shoulders. He leaned in entirely too close and pressed his thumb against my nose. I blinked owlishly and felt my face getting hot. "Pay more attention," He chided leisurely, pinching my nose for good measure. I squeaked out and waved his hand away. Gaara's hand fell away but he kept his arm across my shoulders, steering us away from the cooing old ladies. "And you can't just threaten to murder innocent villagers, Xin."

"What if it's in self-defense?"

"Self-defense is something completely different from beating her brains out in front of her brother."

I pouted but shrugged my shoulders, which barely jostled his heavy ass arm. "More importantly, are we going to talk about why you shattered your favorite mug?"

Gaara effortlessly steered me into the marketplace. Usually I dragged Ukyo with me to go grocery shopping but since I hadn't seen the little ingrate for a week, I ended up dragging my husband. Shockingly, he didn't put up much of a fight. "Not if we don't have to," I replied plainly, wrestling him over to the fruit stand. I shrugged out from under his arm and shoved our large basket into his arms. He took it obediently while I painstakingly picked through the fruits. Gaara waited quietly while I kindly made idle chit chat with merchant.

Satisfied with my pickings, I loaded the fruit into the basket and waved him along. He eyed me expectantly and I sighed heavily as we journeyed through the bustling market. I stopped to pick some vegetables up, tossing them into the basket lazily. "The other day, Hatsune ran into our house screaming about her brothers and knowing I had something to do with it and psychotic bitches and what not."

"She called you a psychotic bitch?"

"It probably isn't the first time but yes, she called me a psychotic bitch. Carnivorous too but anyway," I hummed blandly. "I tried to tell her I don't know anything about her brothers but if you know Hatsune like I know her, and trust me, you don't, you'll know she won't give up. Ukyo tried to calm her down and steer us away from arguing but…."

I paused as rowdy children darted by my leg. I stepped out of the way, into Gaara's chest as the children ignorantly shouted and hollered about one thing or another. Too young to even take notice of their surroundings, I mused while watching them. A portly man shouted at them when they nearly ran into his stand of goods. I didn't play much as a child but on the days I did get out of the Hyuga Compound, I always found a way into trouble. Not the type of trouble Naruto would get into but the type of trouble someone of my background had no business getting into. But I suppose that was just a cry for attention.

"Ah," I snapped back to reality when Gaara nudged my elbow. "Sorry, like I was saying," I stepped away from him to continue our shopping "Hatsune started to say that Ukyo should tell me how she really felt. Apparently she stays up late to cry because she's too embarrassed and scared to talk to me about her brother's death and how she misses him. You know, you can't have emotions if you're a kunoichi. That part didn't really bother me. What bothered me is that she blames me for Usui's death and that she's afraid of becoming like me."

I stopped to pick some sweets up. The Sand Siblings weren't overly fond of sweets but every now and then they'd want something sweet. Gaara, however, loved cookies and I had to remember to get the baking supplies for chocolate chip cookies. "You know, being the way I am never really bothered me. I always knew something was a little off but I always just accepted it. It never really hurt when someone called me crazy or anything."

My tone dropped lower, I really didn't need anyone listening in. And it wasn't like we went about unnoticed. Seeing me come by the marketplace was a normal thing by now. The Kazekage, however, was still relatively new and caused somewhat of a frenzy. I pulled and twisted the drawstring of our money pouch. "I spoke with Hideki a little while ago. He's been angry, planning on killing Genji if he ever popped back up," I paused to laugh. "I scared him away from the thought and Jura...Jura _thanked _me for saving his brother from becoming me. I never really thought being me was such a bad thing until everyone else started to fear being me."

Gritting my teeth together, I sighed softly. "I know it sounds childish but it just hurt. I know I'm not your normal girl, I _know _that. But it still hurt. A lot, especially coming from Ukyo. So I told her to just leave, do what she wants. I got angry and slammed the mug down. Haven't seen her since."

Gaara was quiet, leaning over my shoulder to eye the goods. The lady manning the station smiled nervously. I looked at her and shot her a reassuring smile. After a while, I grabbed what I needed and tossed them into the basket. I handed over the money and waved at her before moving on. "Why does it matter what they think of you?"

"It just does. People care about what others think of them. They care about what their friends think."

"I don't care about what they think of you."

I paused and blinked at him. "Well, I would hope not. You had to marry me. Probably didn't have much of a choice in the matter."

Gaara looked a little disgruntled. "I don't have to do anything I don't want to do, Xin," His hand brushed the curve of my waist. I blushed at his words but smiled, ducking my head. "Ukyo is still young and naive, the things you're used to, used to doing, should still frighten her. That's good. Just give her time."

Despite his words, I pouted. Ukyo was...I loved her a lot. I adored her. She was a sweetheart and having her around made me feel better. It made me feel like maybe I wasn't as terrible as I thought, as I tried to be. "Time has never been my friend," I muttered sullenly. Gaara slipped a heavy arm over my shoulders again, leaning his face close to mine. He used our close proximity to his advantage, pinching my nose while I squealed and flailed. "Gaara!" I whined, slapping his hand away. "Would you grow up? Christ…"

Gaara seemed amused, shrugging a shoulder. "I like you better when you're teeming with energy."

Blushing, I tried to sidle out from under his shoulder. He allowed me to slip out from under him but caught my hand firmly in his. I glanced at him, brow quirked. "You're being really…touchy."

"Touchy?"

"Yes. Touchy. Touchy-feely. Ever since we...oh...ah…" I blushed even harder and quickly found another stall to distract me from my wandering, slightly perverted thoughts. A quick glance at my husband showed he knew exactly where my thoughts had gone.

"Oh, fuck off."

_End P.O.V_

* * *

Xin sighed heavily and stepped out of the Hospital. She could just feel her body losing its muscle mass. The Konoha native couldn't remember the last time she had gone out to train and decided that now was the perfect time.

Dressed in black shorts and a black cropped shirt with a deep v-neck, she set off for the training grounds. Along the way, she twisted her hair into a long braid and greeted anyone who bothered to look in her direction. The training grounds were mostly barren but it didn't bother her, she could practice in peace. With a deep breath, she activated her Byakugan. Her movements started out slow as she tried to settle back into her family's signature style. It didn't take much time and before long, she was dancing around the grounds with swift and precise strikes.

While the majority of her family were likened to water, Xin always moved like the wind. She was tiny and slight with an airy smile but in an instant, could move a mountain if she so chooses. She had the appearance of a gentle breeze but possessed the strength of a great typhoon.

Satisfied when her limbs became accustomed to her family's style once more, she moved on to offensive medical ninjutsu. Sometimes the medical scalpel could even trip her up if she wasn't paying enough attention. It wasn't like she was a complete genius in medical jutsu like Sakura but she could certainly do damage. She jabbed, swiped and thrusted the scalpel formed from her chakra. Sometimes when she got a little aggravated, her scalpel tended to be jagged when it should be more sleek and precise.

Deciding she had done enough, she moved on to unarmed hand to hand combat. This form of Taijutsu was completely different from her family's Taijutsu. Her Taijutsu was no holds-barred. There were no rules, no specific ways to position her hands or her feet. She was at her best utilizing this sort of style. She was most dangerous using just regular Taijutsu.

A footstep behind her caused her to pause in the middle of a kick. She assumed it was Gaara or even Temari or Kankuro but was obviously surprised when she turned to see Ukyo and Hatsune. Xin's surprise did not show easily on her face but she did quirk a slow brow. Carefully she settled her leg down and turned fully to the two younger women. Hatsune was scowling childishly with arms folded, eyes looking anywhere but in Xin's direction.

Ukyo's head was slightly bowed and she fiddled nervously with her hands. Xin continued to stare at the two, obviously unimpressed. "Hi," She greeted simply. She wasn't much for awkward silences between friends. She usually just plowed right through them. Gaara, however, was a special case and often had her tongue-tied. "Kind of late to be wandering around training grounds, don't you think?"

Hatsune scowled even harder and finally turned her murky eyes on the pale woman. "Do you ever take _anything _seriously?" She hissed harshly. Xin eyed her boredly.

"I take murder very seriously," Xin commented casually, knuckles cracking. Hatsune paled slightly and backed off. Ukyo let out a small sigh, fed up with the animosity between the two.

"We didn't come to bicker, Sensei," Ukyo began calmly, taking note of the slight twist of Xin's face.

"Then what did you come for?" Xin asked tonelessly, fingers slightly twitching. Ukyo took notice of the twitching. Ukyo noticed everything.

She rolled her lips together instead. "The other day...I want to apologize for it. While I don't agree with your outlook, it was wrong of me to judge it without really knowing why you have that outlook."

"Yeah," Hatsune suddenly piped up. "Why don't we know why you're the way you are? I'm sure you didn't just wake up one day and decide to be a lunatic."

Xin rolled her eyes but didn't sneer at Hatsune. "Because no one ever asks," Xin stated simply, not in the mood for beating around the bush. Her look of amusement dropped suddenly and she looked more so irritated.

"So you admit you're a lunatic."

"_Hatsune-chan_."

Again, Xin didn't sneer. She only shrugged her shoulders. "Least I'm not a coward," She muttered out of the side of her mouth.

Hatsune's temper flared. "I am not a coward!"

"Mm…"

Ukyo heaved a heavy sigh, perhaps she should have just gone by herself. But Asuna refused to let Ukyo out of the house without someone with her and Hideki was busily helping Kankuro out with something, leaving Hatsune to come along with her. Xin smiled very softly. Perhaps she was still a little sore of Ukyo's words the other day but the girl did seek her out to apologize. That had to count for something, right? And besides, she did miss her presence. Ume seemed to miss Ukyo as well.

Ukyo's lips roll again, unsure of the small woman standing across from her. "I'll tell you sometime, why I am this way, but...for now, it's not important," Xin finally said, remembering Gaara's words. Give her time. So she would give her time. Isn't that what a teacher is supposed to do? Teach all that they can and let time figure out the rest for their student?

Xin took a step towards the two but stopped when something hit the ground between the three. The women collectively frowned and looked down, spotting the rounded item with confusion laced in their eyes. The rounded item suddenly exploded, engulfing them in a thick cloud. Xin cursed, irked that today was the day she decided not to wear something with long sleeves. She reached behind her, listening as Ukyo and Hatsune coughed and gagged over the smoke.

Unclipping her fans from their latches, she opened them with a flick of her wrist. With a scowl, she swept her arms into two wide arches, blowing the smoke away with powerful gusts of wind created by her Chakra. She only had a split second to dodge out of the way of a large foot intending on smashing her face in. The rogue across from her grinned widely as she surveyed him. "Let me guess," Xin started in a bland tone, already hearing the sounds of the other two defending themselves. "Masahiro sent you?"

"What gave it away?" He asked around his too large grin. Xin only stared at him, idly flipping her fans from time to time.

"Well I'm sure my husband wouldn't have one of his Shinobi attacking me, unless he's trying to be funny. In which case, I'm not laughing," Xin rolled her eyes. "Besides, you're like, shrouded in black just like the rest of Masahiro's idiotic followers. Like it's going to make you invisible or some shit."

His grin slipped for a split second before it was back again. He rushed towards her, katana poised to lop her head off. Xin jumped backwards and ducked down low out of the way of the blade. He suddenly had a second katana and she only had a second to raise her fan, the metal lining it clashing with his sword.

She flipped backwards and watched him carefully, knowing she had to get at least one of those blades out of his hands. "I knew I hated those damn swords for a reason," Xin grumbled as he charged her again.

The night sky was light up with sparks of metal as the two opposing sides clashed. Battle cries and grunts of pain echoed along with the sparks, ruining the once peaceful night.

Xin ducked her opponent's swing, surging up to punch him directly in the face. He staggered back from the sudden punch and Xin spun, catching his temple with the heel of her sandal. As he dropped, she yanked one of the blades from his slackened grasp. When he tried to jump back to his feet, she slammed her foot against his throat. A lupine grin pulled at her lips as he struggled under her foot.

She twirled the katana in her hand, completely at ease. "Wielding double blades, huh? Can't be an easy feat, can it? I mean, sure, I've got dual fans and everything but these aren't terribly hard to use. I mean, I had to only learn how to use one katana and I hated it. But two? Jeez…" Xin rambled on effortlessly, twirling the blade like it was a dull knife. "It'd be a real shame if you were to…" She didn't finished, deciding to suddenly stab the blade down. It sank into the ground next to his hand, just a hair off. "Oh, dear. My aim is off, sorry bout' that. Let's try that again…"

Xin jerked the katana forward, eyes lighting up when it sliced easily into his hand. He screamed under her but Xin plowed on until she butchered his wrist, leaving it a bloody stump. "Oh my, you're a screamer," She chuckled at that, yanking the sword out. It glistened in the moonlight, hard steel stained red. "I'm just gonna…" Xin turned and bent, grabbing his foot. With careful fingers, she tightened her grip and twisted his foot until a nasty crack cut his screaming off. "You know, make sure you can't run off and—"

"_Sensei!" _

Xin glanced up in time to see one of the figures dash off with Ukyo. Eyes wide, she surged to her feet, ready to take off when Hatsune's ear-splitting screech stopped her. She turned again to see Hatsune in a heap, shaking fingers hovering over her broken leg. "Oh for shit's sake…" Xin darted over to Hatsune, batting her attacker away like he weighed two pounds.

"You are _so _useless," Xin muttered, hands running up and down Hatsune's leg to find the break. In her frenzy, Hatsune took a swipe at Xin's face. "Oh, really, _really?_ I can leave your shit like this and track down Ukyo!"

Hatsune settled down long enough for Xin to find the break. "Okay, here we go. Ready? One two…" Xin grabbed her leg and snapped it back into place, cringing at Hatsune's howl of pain. "You're fine, you're fine," Xin muttered repeatedly, hands glowing a bright green. "See? All better…." Xin stood before Hatsune could gather herself, eyes searching wildly. Ukyo, however, was long gone. Fists tightening angrily, she turned her eyes on the one she had been fighting. He was still where she left him, bloody stump and broken foot.

She stalked over to him, squatting low to squint at him. "Where are they going?" She asked simply, trying to hold her fleeting temper at bay. It wouldn't do her any good to kill him just yet. Oh, but she was ready.

"W-Where do ya think?" He sneered up at her, eyes kind of hazy. She quirked one lone brow, ignoring Hatsune as she came hobbling up to stand behind her. Xin reached for his arm.

"I'll cut your other hand off."

He stared up at the two women, trying to do his best to shoot them a glare. "Better do as she say, she's really impatient," Hatsune goaded from above Xin's shoulder.

He gritted his teeth, no signs of his loopy grin in sight. "We were supposed to grab _you_," He sneered at Xin. "Masahiro wanted you again to draw out the Kazekage…"

"He tried that once already, what made him think it was going to work again?" Xin questioned as Hatsune made a funny noise.

"Jura isn't there to help you escape this time."

Xin's face hardened as Hatsune made a funny face. "Help you escape this time?" She parroted. "What does he mean by that? She prodded, hand clapping down on Xin's shoulder. The paler woman blinked hard and inhaled deeply.

"Classified, Hatsune."

"The hell it is! Not when it comes to my brother, what's he talking about?"

"Oh God, I should have just left you lying over there with a broken leg…" Xin trailed off, severely irked with the sudden turn of events. All she wanted was to practice just a bit. But did things ever go her way? Of course not. Now she had a kidnapped kid on her hands, an incapacitated accomplice and annoying questions that she probably wasn't allowed to answer.

"What a sweetheart," the rogue muttered under his breath. Xin only glared at him before scoffing. She stood to her height, pushing Hatsune's hand away.

Rounding on her, she settled a hand on her hip. Murky eyes glared down at her and Xin huffed, noticing the height difference despite being the older of the two. "If you want to know about Jura, ask Gaara," Xin stated firmly, glancing over her shoulder at the man. Huffing, she gathered the man up. "Here, hold this," Xin dumped his two blades and his severed hand into Hatsune's arms. The brunette screamed but Xin held the pile firmly in her hands. "Oh stop your bitching. It's just a hand. It can't hurt you."

Hatsune's face nearly turned green while she carried the cluttered mess. Xin grabbed the man with a short breath and dragged him off the training grounds. The walk to the Tower was mostly silent except for grunts of pain from the man and Hatsune's whimpers of disgust. "I don't get paid enough for this," Xin grumbled distastefully. Hatsune watched with eyebrows raised as the small woman proceeded to drag the injured man up the staircase. She giggled at the spectacle and tried to quickly smile innocently when Xin sent a scathing look towards her. "Come on!"

Hatsune scrambled up the stairs after her. When they finally reached the top floor, Xin dropped the man in a heap. "Hold on," She muttered, stepping into the office without knocking. Hatsune rolled her eyes but stepped closer to the door, trying to hear the conversation through the door. She couldn't hear much but the sound of their voices. Xin sounded thoroughly fed up and was growing more irritated by the second. Gaara, on the other hand, sounded like he was trying to remain calm but was getting more and more aggravated. And the third voice, she assumed it was Baki, sounded like they were trying to control the situation.

The door suddenly opened and Hatsune nearly tipped forward. "Mikawa," Baki greeted with a serious face. Hatsune paled considerably and nodded her head, hoping he wouldn't scold her for eavesdropping. Before he could say anything else, Xin breezed by her to get to the man. She picked him up like he was a sack of potatoes and dragged him into the office.

"What happened to his hand?"

"Hatsune has it."

Xin waved Hatsune into the room, ignoring Gaara's perplexed expression. "Why is she holding his severed hand?"

"Cuz' I cut it off?"

"_Xin." _

She rubbed the back of her neck with a scowl. "Well I couldn't just leave a hand laying around the training grounds. It would freak a Genin out to just find it there tomorrow morning, right?" a slow grin began to crawl across her plump lips. Twin looks from both Baki and Gaara had her wiping the grin away immediately. "Anyway, like I said earlier, we've got a problem."

The little woman roughly shook her captive. It was almost surprising how easily words tumbled out of his mouth, explaining why his group had attacked. But then again, Hatsune supposed, anyone would easily do as Xin says after having her cut off a valuable appendage.

"You hear that? They _took _Ukyo instead of me. Incompetent idiots," Xin sneered. "There's no way I'm not going on this mission."

"We don't need you on the mission, I told you that."

"Yeah, I know that but—wait a minute," Xin paused mid-sentence, head tilted to the side. "_We_? Who the hell is _we_?"

"Xin..."

"No, seriously. Who's _we_? Are you _'we'_?" Xin demanded hotly. Gaara took a deep breath as she approached the desk. Hatsune expected her to jump over the damn thing on top of him. But she only folded her arms across her chest and leaned against the edge of it. When Gaara didn't say anything, her face flushed horribly red. "You won't let me go but you're going? How come you get to go?"

"Because Masahiro won't stop until I deal with him personally."

"Yeah, I get that and everything but why are you going out there? When's the last time you even went out on a mission? Why can't your team just bring him back to be dealt with?"

"Because what happened the last time a team was sent out to bring him in?"

"Well I doubt Ju—"

"My Lady," Baki intervened, heavy hand on her shoulder. "I don't think that's an issue that should be discussed at the moment. We should figure out what's going on with Ukyo's kidnapping."

Hatsune eyed the threesome with squinted eyes. Baki seemed used to breaking up the couple's' bickering. She wondered if they were happy as they tried to come off as. She often wondered how Kazekage-sama could put up with such a shrewd, temperamental woman.

Hatsune stood silently as the three discussed the new development. She noted that they pretty much ignored the man on the floor, which she thought was funny until she remembered she was holding his severed hand. The brunette grimaced and glanced down at it.

Her eyes drew up to seek Xin out. If she hadn't personally sparred with the woman or witnessed her cut a man's hand off, she wouldn't have believed she was capable of such a thing. She was such a small, slight thing with big eyes that threw everyone off. But her personality was the complete opposite of her appearance.

What the Kazekage saw in such a violent woman was beyond her. They were complete opposites of one another and barely had anything in common. Well, Hatsune assumed they had nothing in common. Xin had stated that someone like Matsuri wouldn't be able to understand Gaara. That had to mean that she understood him a way no one woman understood him.

With a huff, she looked down at her feet.

"Hatsune, would you like Xin to escort you home?" Gaara's voice suddenly broke her from her thoughts. She blinked quickly and looked up, catching Xin's look of distaste. She leaned over to pinch him but he mindlessly batted her hand away.

"Ah," Hatsune's lips puckered. "No, that's alright. Thank you for the offer but I think I'll be okay," Hatsune answered with a forced smile. The threesome collectively eyed her quietly. Baki was the first to move, gathering the handless man up as effortlessly as Xin. He grumbled a rough goodnight and left first. Following his lead, Hatsune bade a quick goodnight and left the office with a heavy sigh. How was she supposed to explain this to Asuna and Hideki? Jura, Kyo and Genji were already missing in action and now Ukyo was gone.

"Susu is going to go in early labor," Hatsune mumbled about halfway down the staircase. She suddenly paused, remembering she still had the hand and dual swords in her possession. With a loud groan, she turned around and started back up. She couldn't just leave the hand and two blades on the staircase.

The door was still cracked open, her hands had been too full to close it fully behind her. She opened her mouth to announce herself but stopped in her tracks. She expected the two to be bickering again since Baki wasn't there to stop them. And she also wasn't there to witness any acts of violence. She was expecting violent threats and angry shouting.

Xin hadn't moved from her spot but her head was bowed, hands brought up to press against her face. There's small whimpers and sniffles coming from her and Hatsune almost leans in fully just to hear it. She wanted to run in the room just to see the tears, just to see it for herself. To see such a strong-willed woman finally lose her composure. Before she could, Gaara had rounded his desk. He easily engulfed Xin in his arms, hands steering the back of her head forward to pillow her face against his chest.

Despite knowing she had no business spying on the couple, Hatsune stayed rooted in place. There was just something so _unnatural _about Xin's moment of weakness. It just didn't seem right. Xin pulled her face away, eyes glistening in the moonlight. Her lower lip trembled pathetically and she bit down on it. Her arms lowered against his chest, fingers tightening in the fabric of his shirt. Hatsune leaned in as Xin began to speak rapid fire, spitting the words out like they stung her tongue.

"You have to let me come, Gaara. You have to. What if they kill her? What if they're torturing her? They almost killed me, Gaara. I was practically dead. They took her instead of me, why, I don't know but I'll be fucked and feathered if she dies for me," the tears were coming faster, almost as if they were struggling to match how quickly she was speaking.

Gaara didn't reply and Hatsune wondered if he would say anything at all to the distraught woman. "If you don't let me come, I'll leave tonight on my own. Jura told me the coordinates, I know where to go—"

"You're willing to abandon the village for Ukyo?" Gaara finally spoke, breaking her rapid words from tumbling out of her mouth. She resorted to chewing on her bottom lip again, the appendage becoming cherry red from the abuse.

Hatsune inched closer, almost afraid that she wouldn't hear Xin's answer. The woman was ballsy but she wasn't stupid. Who in their right mind would tell their leader that they're willing to commit such a crime all for the sake of a child?

"I am."

Apparently Xin wasn't in her right state of mind. But then again, Hatsune frowned, was she ever? Or maybe she was just stupid. Hatsune was willing to bet on that option. Ballsy and stupid went hand in hand, she always thought.

And what was all of this about torture and death? Someone had nearly killed the woman? But for what? Unbearable as she could be, Xin didn't often leave Suna so who could possibly have something against her? And how were they able to torture her to near death without anyone noticing?

"_She did recently vanish for almost a month after getting back from the honeymoon. Kankuro-sensei and Temari-san said she had urgent business to take care of in Konoha but…." _perhaps that hadn't been the case. That, of course, sounded much better than the Kazekage's wife was kidnapped and is being tortured and we have no idea where to find her.

Hatsune took a step away as the two held a silent staring contest. Perhaps she had done enough spying but her eyes refused to turn away even when Xin stretched to the tips of her toes. _"Why doesn't that woman ever wear shoes?" _Hatsune thought with a harsh scowl. _"Why can't she at least be normal? Out of all people, why her? He deserves so much better. Maybe not me but Matsuri. She deserves him, not this woman…"_

What was it about this woman that caught his attention? She was pretty, yes, but so were the other women from Konoha. They all had an odd, ethereal beauty about them. Before the wedding, she had never met someone with natural pink hair.

Hatsune's eyes followed the shapely form of the woman's legs up to curve of her ass leading into her thin waist. Her torso was slight but the same couldn't be said about her breasts. Hatsune almost snorted out loud. That's what probably caught his attention. Crazy or not, the woman's body was pretty attractive. Except for those scars though….they were an eyesore. But paired with her muscle tone, they didn't seem so bad.

But her personality….

Gaara wouldn't marry just for looks, she knew that. There had to be something that she was missing about the woman. Something she only allowed Gaara to see. Something that made up for her insanity. "_Or…." _a voice crept from the back of her head. _"Perhaps it is her insanity that attracts him…" _the voice cooed in a sickeningly sweet tune. That thought caused her to nearly snarl. Insanity? Attractive? That couldn't be right. Not such a generous man, he just couldn't be attracted to a violent woman.

"_How could a pacifist understand Gaara?"_

Xin's words came back suddenly and figuratively slapped her in the face. But...that would mean… Hatsune blinked hard, refusing to darken the image of the Kazekage. He was not the same as that woman. He just wasn't.

A hand suddenly flew past her, grabbing the handle to pull it shut quietly. She nearly screamed before spinning around to defend herself. "I don't think," Baki began casually, not at all bothered. "That either of them would appreciate being spied on," He stated in that same bland voice. "I thought Kazekage-sama sent you home? Perhaps you would like Xin's company after all?"

Hatsune flushed at being caught. But it was better than being caught by Xin. There's no telling what she would do if she knew someone saw her being weak. "N-No, Baki-san," Hatsune replied nervously. "I was on my way home when I realized I still had this," She held the two blades and severed hand out. "I can't just take it home to my siblings."

Baki only nodded, taking the load without complaint. "Go home to your siblings, Mikawa," He sternly ordered while turning away.

Hatsune didn't look back, not once.

* * *

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, what's the matter with you?"

Hatsune blankly stared at Xin before her eyes met the oldest Sand Sibling. Kankuro had invited her over for early morning training but he was still practically asleep in the bed when she arrived. So it left her in the company of his sisters. Temari shot Xin a dry look but the smaller woman only shrugged. "Anyway, if you'd like, you're welcome to have breakfast with us," the blonde offered kindly.

Xin snorted while eyeing the coffee pot almost obsessively. "She probably won't want it. I bet she thinks I poison the food."

This time the older blonde let out a laugh. "Kankuro used to think the same thing when Xin first moved here with us but the food is safe. I'd recommend her cooking."

Hatsune watched the two. Temari was smiling but Xin was still watching the coffeepot. "If you're sure it's safe…" She trailed off uneasily. Early morning training meant that she had woke up hours before Asuna. Waking up before Asuna meant no breakfast, especially if Jura wasn't there to fill in. Xin didn't move to make breakfast until the coffee was finished. Her obsession with coffee seemed a little unhealthy but she stayed quiet. Xin wielding a glass mug could be dangerous.

Gaara came into the kitchen next, briefly pausing when he noticed the extra figure in the kitchen. "Good morning, Hatsune," He greeted politely. Her face instantly flushed. She was glad Xin had her back turned, no doubt she would have pointed her red face out.

"Good morning, Kazekage-sama. I hope I am no trouble to you this morning," She returned his greeting just as politely, smiling very softly.

"It's no trouble," Gaara replied easily while crossing the room. Hatsune's eyes followed as he came to stand next to Xin. He leaned down, speaking quietly into her ear. An amused smile pulled at Xin's lips and she playfully elbowed him. Who knew they could actually be a normal couple? Hatsune almost chuckled at the thought but pushed the stray giggle back down her throat.

Kankuro came clambering in the kitchen, eyeing the couple first with bleary eyes. "Get a room," He grunted with a look of disgust.

"Fuck off before I poison your food," Xin answered without missing a beet. Gaara shook his head and brushed the small of her back one last time before joining them all at the dinner table.

"So," Kankuro slumped into the chair on Hatsune's left. "You got my student kidnapped?" He turned his eyes on Xin's back. Hatsune watched Xin's back tense up. Temari glared at her younger brother.

"You really want to start with me this early in the morning, knowing there's so many things within my reach to hurt you with?" Xin asked in monotone, holding up the hot skillet.

Kankuro offered her a dirty look. "Whatever, just don't drink all the coffee, you fiend."

"Don't drink all the coffee, you fiend," Xin mocked his words with an over exaggerated expression and voice.

Moments later she came over with two stacks of pancakes and bacon. The small woman placed it down on the center of the table and went back to get the pot of coffee. Hatsune watched with a quirked brow as she poured a cup of coffee and downed it, refilling her mug for maybe a third time before handing it off to Kankuro. "Gaara says you weaseled your way onto the mission," Temari started up the conversation, amused eyes glinting. Xin only blinked before squinting evilly at Gaara.

"I wouldn't say I weaseled my way…." Xin trailed off. "I just had a very convincing point," She shrugged a shoulder and then found her mug freakishly interesting.

'_Convincing as in you cried and threatened to leave on your own,' _Hatsune thought to herself. It was better not to share that tidbit of information because then she would have to explain how she could have possibly known such a thing. And there were so many utensils within Xin's reach that could easily be used as a weapon. And if the woman was willing to break her wrist, she was sure she had no problem stabbing her with a fork.

"It's probably a good idea that she comes," Kankuro piped up. "The place is somewhere in Konoha's territory and Xin knows the land pretty well," He stated. "Plus, every team needs a medical ninja, don't they?"

"Well I'll be damned," Xin said from behind her mug. "You are actually capable of having an intelligent thought. How's that feel? Is your brain burning from all that excessive use you're putting it to?"

"Oh fuck you."

Temari took a minute to slap them both. "Not at the table," She offered a severe glare. "And not in front of company. Seriously, would it kill you two to remember your manners?"

"Probably."

"Most likely."

"I hate you both."

This time Hatsune did laugh. It was just so odd seeing the Sand Siblings behave like a normal family. They had a certain reputation to uphold and this side of them was almost unheard of. Xin glanced at Hatsune and surprisingly smiled, a muffled giggle of her own breaking past her lips. Realizing how soft she probably seemed, she quickly found interest in picking with Kankuro, plucking him as he tried to eat. Kankuro, in turn, slapped at her hand every time it got too close to his face. Temari rolled her eyes in exasperation. Gaara remained impassive. "Are they always this childish?" Hatsune finally spoke up. The bickering duo ignored her but the remaining siblings both glanced at her.

"They're much worse," Gaara replied evenly, seemingly not bothered with the childish antics. Kankuro-Sensei was goofy but he was never downright childish. And Xin had her moments but she'd always resort to threats. It was just all so new to Hatsune.

When breakfast was finally finished, Kankuro had started upstairs to get ready for their training session. Gaara had politely wished her a good day before leaving for the office with Temari in tow. That just left Xin behind. Hatsune expected the woman to leave, surely there were things to be done before she left with everyone else. But Xin puttered around the kitchen almost mindlessly.

"Are you alright, Hatsune?" her voice broke the tense silence. She glanced up with round eyes, surprised to see the woman had seated herself across from her. She was armed with the teapot, quietly pouring the steaming liquid into a teacup. "This is good for stamina…" Xin pushed the teacup towards her. Hatsune eyed the cup apprehensively. It was one thing to eat her food, the Sand Siblings had eaten it with no problem so it had to be safe. This brew, however, had gone unnoticed. Xin took notice of her hesitation almost immediately. "If I wanted to kill you," She started to say with quirked brows. "I wouldn't poison you. That's kind of boring."

"That's not normal or reassuring."

"Well, who says I'm either of those things?"

"I would think a medical ninja is supposed to be those things."

"Well, it's a good thing I'm not a medical ninja then, isn't it?"

Hatsune huffed irritably but Xin only smiled, pushing at the teacup once more. Rolling her eyes, she snatched the cup up and drank some of it. She blinked hard as the scorching liquid slid down her throat. "Why'd you make tea?" She asked as it settled in her stomach. It was actually pretty good. She sipped at it.

Xin shrugged her shoulders. "Early morning training sucks and sometimes you run out of stamina easily if you haven't slept well the night before."

"Who says I didn't sleep well?"

"No one but you know," Xin tapped the corner of her eye. "All seeing eyes and everything," her smile suddenly dropped as her eyes clouded over. "Anyway, are you alright?"

"Yeah," Hatsune answered gruffly. "Why do you ask?"

Xin didn't seem bothered with her tone of voice. "I was just wondering," She replied absently. "I'm going to get her back." She said after a moment's pause.

"And what of my brothers?"

Her absent gaze settled on the younger kunoichi, chilling her to the bone. "Well, I suppose that's up to Gaara, isn't it?"

"...I suppose so."

Xin was smiling again while nodding. She balanced her chin in the palm of her hand, smile never fading. Hatsune shifted uncomfortably, not at all used to the woman's kindness. It really was no secret that they didn't get along at this point so for Xin to go out of her way to show kindness, it was unnerving.

But it wasn't too bad, she guessed.

* * *

_Xin's P.O.V_

The severed hand hit the table.

Jura's face instantly paled, eyes glued to the hand. "Oh my God," He uttered. "Please, _please _tell me that's not supposed to be attached to Hatsune. Or Asuna," He pleaded almost desperately.

I rolled my eyes. "Obviously not, you moron. This is a man's hand."

"Is it Kyo's hand…?"

"Trust me, if I actually got my hands on him, a severed hand would not be sitting in front of you ," I snorted sarcastically.

"Xin, we still have much to do," Baki reminded me. "Now is not the time for jokes," He spoke blandly.

"There's always time for jokes," I remarked cheekily. Baki didn't look amused. "Lighten up, jeez," I playfully elbowed his side. Baki's icy facade didn't even crack. "Oh you're no fun," I waved him off with a childish pout.

"You're eighteen, Xin, not eight."

I continued to wave his words off but I did decide to get serious. "Jura," I folded my arms across my chest. "Just to make sure," I leaned across the battered table with a gleam in my eye. "You know what happens if these coordinates are bogus, right?"

Jura stared at me. "You're gonna slaughter my family in front of me?"

"Well, Gaara says I can't but believe me when I say I have my ways."

"He lets you get away with a lot of things."

"I'd like to think of it as having special perks for marrying such a powerful person. It gets lonely at night."

"I would imagine so. He's a busy man," Jura commented just as blandly as me. The banter between us caused both of us to lose face and crack big grins. Realizing my error, I frowned softly and sat down at the table.

"May I see your hand?"

"Are you gonna cut it off?"

"If you don't give me it then yeah," I rolled my eyes again and impatiently motioned for his hand. Jura shot me a dirty look but held up his cuffed hands, settling them within my reach. I grabbed his hand and with a pinch and a spark of Chakra, the band suppressing his Chakra fell off.

"Uh…?" Jura eyed us suspiciously, rubbing at his wrists. His Chakra came bursting at the seams, no longer suppressed. "Is this some sort of sick joke that you two cooked up? Because let me be the first to tell you that it's not funny."

I pinched the bridge of my nose in an attempt to stave a snort of laughter away. Right now, we had to be serious. There wasn't any time for jokes. "It's not a joke, trust me," I pinched a little harder at the bridge of my nose.

"There's a mission that the Kazekage, his siblings and Xin will be taking. It's to hunt down Masahiro to recover both him and your brothers. You will also be going along with them," Baki started to explain before I could. I watched in obvious amusement when the information sunk in.

"...why….?"

"Insurance," I shrugged blandly. "If something goes wrong and we walk into another trap, you're going down with us," I told him, dropping my hand. "Besides I figure you'd like to see your brothers before whatever happens."

"How kind of you," Jura replied petulantly. He rubbed a little too hard at his wrist. He noticed my stare and quickly stopped, placing them on his lap. "But what if I refuse to go along? You can't just _make _me go along with it…"

"Then I slit your throat and we call it a day."

We both waited for Baki's disapproval but he remained quiet. I glanced at him but couldn't really tell what was going through his head. Even Jura's face pinched in confusion at the silence. Baki glanced at me and shrugged one big shoulder. "If he will not cooperate, then we have no use for him."

"Huh," I puckered my lips but shrugged. "Well then, I suppose there's nothing left to say," I reached for my kunai strapped above the dual fans. Before I could unlatch the blade, Jura jumped up with raised hands. Neither of us reacted. "You gonna fight me, Mikawa?"

"I saved you," Jura spat with narrowed eyes.

"You did," I agreed, hands dipping past the kunai to unlatch the fans. If it was a fight he wanted, I wasn't going to disappoint. "You also stood by while your brother set the Tower on fire, killing seven innocent people. Let's not forget you also stood by while I was tortured to death for nearly a week before deciding to save me and gave up false information that resulted in the death of three Shinobi. So you know, I don't think that's a very strong argument."

"I thought we were best friends," Jura uttered quietly.

"We were. We are, I'd like to think. But I'm not going to sit aside and watch this play out any longer. I'm going to ask you one last time to stand down. If you refuse, I won't hold back," I stated stoically, flicking out the bladed fans with a twist of my wrist.

Jura's eyes flickered around almost erratically. He was probably thinking back to the night of the tower going up in flames. I think I might have said the same thing to him as well. "Jura, I don't want to hurt you but I will if you don't cooperate."

"You just threatened to kill me!"

"_If _you don't cooperate! Stop being so damn stubborn and just do what I ask of you! What don't you get?! Your brothers are _criminals! _Masahiro is a terrorist and he's killing innocent people, don't you think this bullshit should end? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Me?! What's wrong with you? Would it be that easy for you to accept your one of your sisters being criminal? You think you'd be able to accept that?"

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Not that dumbass reasoning again. "I don't think either of my sisters would pull some dumb shit like that. I think I already told you that."

Jura gritted his teeth and shook his head. "Listen, I'll go. That's what you guys want, right? I'll go along but on one condition."

"Uh, I really don't think you're in a position to demand—"

"Name it," Baki finally spoke up.

"What? You're not serious—"

"Bring my brothers back _alive."_

"Now wait a minu—"

"Accepted."

"Oi!" I waved one of my fans around. "We're making bargains now? Are you serious? He refused the first time and you said if there's no use for him…"

"Lord Kazekage has made it clear that we bring all of them back _alive, _my Lady. If you want to beat them senseless then feel free to do so. But they come back alive."

"Oh for fuck's sake…"

Baki decided to ignore me, which was fuckin' rude but whatever, and turned his eyes back on Jura. "The missions is in two days. You will spend these days replenishing the rest of your Chakra and gathering the things you need. You leave at dawn."

Jura rubbed his wrist again, a mischievous glint in his eye. "And what if I just vanish beforehand? You think it's a good idea to let me replenish my Chakra in the span of two days?"

Baki remained indifferent. He folded his arms across his broad chest and shrugged his shoulders. His one visible eye found me and I smiled coyly. "Then I slaughter your siblings until we find you."

Jura narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "I don't believe you have the guts to kill them. They've never done you wrong."

"I murdered your cousin and Kyohei's childhood friend."

"W-What?"

"You had a cousin, Haruka. I don't think you've met her or remember her but she lived in Konoha. I killed her. Shintaro, I think that was his name. I killed him too, though that was more of self-defense...but he _is _dead and _I _did kill him," I rambled thoughtlessly. It had been such a long time since I'd even thought of Shintaro.

"You laid his corpse out at my doorstep?"

"Ah. Oh, I did do that. Honestly I forgot about that."

"Hatsune slipped on his blood."

"Well, you know, slippery when wet."

"That's not funny, Xin!"

"Well maybe not from your point of view."

Jura shot me a severe look and I smiled apologetically. Before either of us could say anything else, Baki spoke up once more. "You've been warned, Mikawa. Do as you're told and we'll see if Lord Kazekage can be swayed from his original plans for you."

Jura paled considerably. "He'll be going on the mission with us."

Jura was as white as snow. I laughed.

* * *

"I told you to stop threatening to kill his family."

Gaara didn't look too pleased when I was finally finished my story. "Yeah I know that but how else was I supposed to get him to agree?"

Gaara pinched the bridge of his nose. I grinned like a crackhead. "Well, at least you're truthful…"

That made my grin drop. I actually hadn't been entirely truthful. I left out the part about killing Shintaro. I realized during my story that no one really knew I was behind that guy's death, not even Gaara. And that realization caused me to realize I was keeping a lot of things from him. And I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure you don't keep things from the one you love. That was still hard to wrap my brain around, being in love with him. "I, uh, I have some things to tell you," I decided that now was good as any. Gaara only glanced at me but nodded, only slightly distracted. "Do you remember Shintaro's death?"

His face pulled at the random question. "That was a long time ago but yes. He was a good man, from what I can remember…"

"Yeah, uh, that's nice. I killed him."

"What…?"

"And I've been suspicious about Genji since the start and so has Baki so he asked me to pretty much stalk him and if he gave us any reason to believe he was full of shit, I was given directions to kill him too."

"Xin, what the fuck are you—"

"And, um, remember when the hospital blew up and you had a fit because I was with Sasori and I refused to tell you what we were talking about? He was telling me that this entire time you all thought he was dead when in reality he actually joined a group, Akatsuki. Are you familiar with their work? Mercenaries. Very efficient. The explosion was set because he abandoned that group."

Gaara had a funny look on his face. I couldn't for the life of me describe it. I waited with hunched shoulders, knowing that when his brain finally processed everything, I was in deep shit.

"_Have you lost your fucking mind?!" _

I grimaced with a wary frown. Christ, he started it off by cursing and questioning my sanity. Gaara certainly was not a happy camper. "Why the fuck wouldn't you tell me those things?! What is _wrong _with you?!" He demanded loudly. I tried not to groan out loud. I didn't want to argue but that's clearly where this is going.

"A lot of things," I replied blandly. Gaara gave me the most angriest look I think I ever seen. It actually made me shrink into myself. "Okay, okay, nows not the time. I'm sorry."

"No you're not," Gaara snapped hotly. I frowned. "You're never sorry, that's the problem with you. You're never fucking sorry. For some unknown reason, you just take shit upon yourself and then get angry when you're told you're wrong."

"I didn't tell you this so you could attack my character," I hissed while climbing to my feet. "And if I wasn't sorry, I wouldn't have said it."

"You say a lot of shit you don't mean."

"Are you calling me a liar? I didn't lie to you. I just withheld information."

"Same shit!" Gaara snapped, throwing his hands up. "Why don't you understand that there's just some things you can't keep to yourself, Xin? He was a missing-nin, do you not understand how severe that is?"

"This entire time you all thought he was dead so clearly he didn't tell any of Suna's secrets! What's the big deal? He came back, didn't he?"

"That's not the point!"

"Then what is?!"

"The point is that you can't keep shit like that from me! And how dare you and Baki scheme behind my back? Did you really think that was a good idea? Neither of you are Kages so I don't know where you get off making decisions without my knowledge or consent."

"Baki had a very convincing point."

"I don't give a flying fuck what he had you moron," Gaara sneered. I rolled my eyes at the name calling. "You don't take orders from him."

"Right, I'm suppose to take orders from you."

"Too bad you don't fucking listen to them."

I officially wanted to smack the shit out of him. I knew he would be upset and everything but I wasn't expecting him to attack me verbally. "I didn't tell you this so you could assassinate my damn character—"

"Then what the fuck is the point of this?"

"Would you please not int—"

"Honestly, what did you expect me to do?"

"Well, I expect you to not rudely int—"

"Did you think I would be happy that you're keeping shit from me?"

"Christ Almighty! Gaara, we're not going to get anywhere if you keep cutting me off before I can answer any of your questions. Look, you're absolutely right, okay? I was wrong for keeping those things for you and I apologize for keeping it from you but I will not apologize for what I did. Shintaro tried to kill me and Baki was just worried about Suna….Sasori….well, okay, I was completely wrong for that but that's about it."

Gaara was harshly rubbing his temples. "That's not enough," He finally said and I felt my shoulders slump in dejection. "You…." Gaara took a deep breath. "Sometimes I really wonder if I can trust anything that comes out of your mouth…" He grouched out. I only blinked at him before my mind caught up with me.

"Oh really? What else do you think I lied about? Huh? My age? My favorite food? My wedding vows?" I started snapping at him, spitting acid at him. I squinted hard at him, ignoring the odd itching behind my eyes. "The fact that I told you I love you?" I whispered harshly. Gaara didn't say a word but his silence spoke volumes. "Anything else you think I lied about?" my voice wavered slightly. My anger spiked suddenly. "Please, don't let me stop you, anything else you want to get off your chest?"

"I need you to calm down," Gaara began to say, hands coming up to try to placate me. My eyes burned. "There's nothing I want to get off of my chest but you're not getting what I'm actually saying."

"I do get it. I also get that you think I'm a liar."

"That's not what I'm saying at all. Calm down."

"I am calm!" I screeched. "I'm fuckin' calm, fuckin' peachy! Cool as a fuckin' cucumber!" I waved my arms around wildly. Fed up with my actions, Gaara caught my flailing arms in an iron grip. He swung me around and pinned me against the desk.

"Stop fuckin' shouting!" Gaara shouted right back in my face. "This is your problem, this right here. Stop trying to be a victim. This is not about you being in love with me or whatever's going through your screwed up mind!"

"Fuck you!" I snatched my arms away and shoved at his chest. "Fuck you!" I snapped again, forcing my way past him. "I knew I shouldn't have said anything and just kept the shit to myself but noooooo! This is me, trying to be a good person, a good wife, for you and look what happens!" I threw my hands up. Gaara called after me but I kept going, waving his words away. The itching at my eyes was becoming bothersome and I felt the urgent need to just get away.

The cool breeze hit me in the face and I paused at the doorway, taking a deep breath. I started to hurry away again, following a path almost blindly. I took a sharp turn and slammed face-first into something. Stumbling backwards, I looked up and to my surprise, Sasori stood over me. Speak of the Devil and he shall appear.

He looked just as shocked as me but then his face morphed. "Why are you crying?" He asked bluntly. I blinked in confusion and reached up to feel my face. True to his words, I was crying. I rubbed harshly at my face, trying to get the steady flow of tears to just stop. Of all people to run into while crying uncontrollably, it had to be Sasori. Fucking great. Fantastic. How ironic, Christ, my luck sucked. "I'm….I'm not crying," I lied pathetically. Sasori snorted in disbelief and reached up slowly, catching a stray tear on the tip of his finger.

"Did he hurt you?" He asked quietly while I continued to rub violently at my face. "Xin, did he hurt you?" He repeated firmly, catching my hands and drawing them away from my face.

"Hurt me? Who, Gaara?" I sniffled. "Don't be silly, Gaara wouldn't hurt me, unless I wanted him to," I tried to grin cheekily but it didn't really work out with all the tears. "No, no, he didn't hurt me. We just, uh, had an argument is all. It's not serious."

"Then why are you crying?"

"I'unno," I shrugged my shoulders. "Cuz' I'm a girl and that's what we do," I answered wryly. Sasori didn't really look amused but he cracked a small smirk.

"I'd believe that statement coming from any girl besides you. In case you forgot, you're not normal. So why are you crying, what did he do to you?" Sasori demanded hotly. He dropped my hands in favor of cupping my face, catching the tears with his thumbs before they could drop from my chin.

"I told you, we had an argument. It really isn't a big deal, I'm just a little frustrated. Gaara didn't hurt me."

"This time?"

"Ever. My husband doesn't hurt me."

"Right, unless you want him to."

"Now you're catching on."

It was quiet for a beet while he continuously caressed my cheeks. I only blinked back at him, slightly uncomfortable. He just had this look in his eyes and he….was he getting closer to my face? Eyes wide, I tried to back away only to back up into the building behind me. Oh, peeeeeeerfect.

"Sasori, wait, what are you doing? We talked about this," I tried to talk him out of whatever was going through his twisted mind but my words fell on deaf ears. And for the second time, Sasori kissed me. I didn't react but I also didn't push him away. I reached up, gripping his wrists apprehensively. I tugged at his wrists, realizing just how wrong this was. It didn't feel right, it felt foreign. We didn't fit right. His hands felt weird, they were rough in the wrong places. His lips weren't right, his bottom lip wasn't full enough. His body didn't have the same muscles, dips and lines.

He just wasn't Gaara.

"Sasori," I gasped around his lips. _"Sasori_—_stop!" _I gasped again. He completely ignored me, boxing me in with his wrong body and slid his knee in between my legs. I inhaled sharply at the feeling of his knee pressing into my core. "Ahh_hhhhh, stooooop," _I shook my head, face completely flushed. He worked his knee against me and I felt the inevitable pool of pleasure gather in the pit of my stomach. Oh, for Kaguya's sake, damn my traitorous body. Maybe this would have been easier if he wasn't so attractive.

But he still wasn't my husband and that just meant he wasn't good enough. I wriggled under him but stiffened when he grunted against my mouth. Oh dear God, someone is gonna see us and they're gonna tell Gaara and Jesus Christ, we're gonna die.

I suddenly had a sinking feeling. Eyes wide, I gripped Sasori a little tighter and jerked him to the side. I snapped my eyes close, knowing I just couldn't get out of the way quick enough. A shadow fell over my face but I didn't feel any pain so I slowly cracked open an eye and instantly regretted it. Because, you know with my luck and everything, Gaara stood before us. Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck. I'm gonna die, I'm gonna fuckin' die. He's gonna kill us.

"Gaara," I breathlessly uttered his name, hand slowly coming up to feel my bruised lips. "Uh, listen, this isn't what it looks like—Jesus Christ, this isn't what you think it is, okay? Please, _please _just stay calm," I pleaded with him, holding my hands up in a placating motion. "Please, honey, I promise this isn't what it looks like."

"Looks like he was about to fuck you against this building," Gaara replied roughly to my pleading. My face became even more red at his blatant words. I dropped my face into my hands, sighing heavily.

"I was telling him to stop," I grieved weakly into my palms.

"So you're telling me he was trying to rape you."

"What? No, God, no! Sasori wouldn't do that."

"So you did want it. You wanted it?"

"No, of course not! You're the only one I want, I told you that," I insisted desperately. And Christ it was the truth. I loved him, wholeheartedly and that's why I was crying in the first place. Because he didn't believe me, he didn't believe that I was in love with him and it was breaking my goddamn soul. Gaara was silent as he regarded the two of us. Sasori did not look unapologetic at all and it made me want to slap the bullshit out of him. This idiot was on a severe track of ruining this for me. For fuck's sake….

"Come here," Gaara broke me out of my thoughts. I blinked owlishly, hoping to God he wasn't going to strangle me once I got within reach. Despite my unease, I obediently went to him and for a moment, I paused. When did I decide to obediently just follow any of his orders? I mean, yes, I was supposed to follow his orders anyway because he's my leader but that's not what I mean.

Why was I so desperate to make him understand that whatever that happened between Sasori and I just now was not well-received? Why should I care? He thought I was a liar anyway. Why should I fight to prove that I was head over heels in love with him?

Because for the love of Christ, I wanted him to love me back. I wanted him to love me so goddamn bad. And thanks to Sasori, that just might not happen. The tears were gathering again and I quickly rubbed at my face before they could drip down. I stopped short in front of him, eyes darting around nervously. To my surprise, instead of choking the life out of me, he crouched slightly and grabbed me. I squeaked and wriggled when he effortlessly lifted me over his shoulder. "You'll be dealt with later, Sasori."

He turned away without saying much else and I only had a quick glimpse of Sasori before we turned the corner. The walk back to his tower was silent and I nearly objected. I just wanted to go home and lay down but I figured our second round of screaming at each other would be rude to Temari and Kankuro.

The door slamming shut knocked me out of my thoughts. I chewed my lower lip, clearly I hadn't wandered that far when I literally ran into Sasori. The sound of the doors locking had my blood running cold because shit, I'm gonna die. He's going to murder me right here and nobody's gonna bat an eyelash cuz' I'm a cheating harlot from Konoha and I probably deserved to be burned at the stake. What's the consequence for cheating on a Kage? Not that I was willingly cheating on him but someone would find a way to paint me in a bad light.

Gaara's grip became a little tighter as he shifted, sliding me off of his shoulder and plopping me right on his desk. Before I could try to escape, he planted his hands on the desk, trapping me. I frowned, forehead puckering in worry but he only leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine.

Oh….well….okay. Honestly the last thing I was expecting from him was a kiss. I was at least expecting him to pluck the living shit out of me. But Hell if I would question it. Gaara was weird like that anyway. The minute I lifted my arms to wrap around his neck, he snatched me up by the shoulders and practically body slammed me into the desk. The room spun as I tried to gather my wits. "Fucking Hell," I cursed through clenched teeth.

In the second that it took for me to gather myself, my skirt was being pushed up past my hips to bunch around my stomach. "Waaaait," I nearly whined only for him to kiss me a second time. I tried to keep up but he was moving too fast, too hard, too rough. I feared my lips would be a bloody mess by the time he was done. He strayed down my jaw to my neck, leaving a trail of bitten kisses in his wake. I squirmed and jerked under him, hands pushing at his chest. "You're not…._unnnn_….listening….."

I really didn't understand why he wanted to mess around at a time like this. Not saying I didn't enjoy it or anything but didn't we have more important things to discuss? Like Sasori invading my personal bubble again? Didn't he want to talk about that? I mean, I didn't want to talk about it but it would probably be a good idea. Isn't that what couples do? Normal couples talk their problems out, I think.

Something ripped and I blinked back into reality, glancing down to see my panties in mangled shreds. "What type of barbaric—" I was cut off when he grabbed just under my ass and lifted my legs, easily sliding in between them. "Wait, Gaara—"

Oh. Oh. _Oh._

I blinked hard, silently gaping as the pain from being penetrated so suddenly resonated from my pelvis. It wasn't as bad as losing my virginity but Christ Almighty, it still hurt. I wanted to tell him to _wait, _to _slow down_ but I couldn't wrap my mind around the concept of slowing down when he started to rock his hips against mine.

I hissed and reached for him, I needed something to hold on to. His strokes were hitting too hard, too deep and I needed something to dig my nails into. Just as my hands were slipping around his neck, bloody sand shot up from out of nowhere. The sand grabbed at my hands, grains digging harshly into my skin as my hands were jerked back down.

I wanted to touch him, to hold him but clearly that's not what he wanted and when I looked into his face, I realized why. There was a sort of...calm rage brewing in his eyes with a predatory gleam. I only had a few seconds to look into his eyes when he slammed brutally into me. It might have been sick and twisted but I let out a chorus of moans, pleasure bubbling from the deepest pit of my stomach.

His name rolled off my tongue slowly, sensually and my fingers twitched erratically. I just wanted to touch him but he was having none of that while he pounded selfishly into me. Instead I leaned my head back and bit my bottom lip, trying to meet his heavy thrusts. Just as I was getting into his rhythm he stopped. Instantly I started to pout, because what the fuck. What. The. Fuck.

Gaara only shifted, hefting me closer to him and slipping my legs around his waist. He sank deeper into me, if that's even possible, and I quickly crossed my ankles. To be totally honest, this hurt even more. It felt like I was stretched way past my limit but if Gaara knew that, he certainly didn't give a fuck.

I didn't even try to meet his thrusts and I've been told most men don't like it when women just lay there but there was honestly nothing I could do about it. Gaara was completely and utterly dominating me. A pinch at my neck brought me out of my euphoric daze and with another hiss, I realize Gaara was bent completely over me and biting my neck.

Fuck, fuck, fuuuuck I'm gonna cum. I'm gonna cum fast and hard and Gaara was not slowing down, Christ I'm gonna feel this in the morning. The desk creaked loudly under us but we barely paid any mind to it. I could barely hear Gaara's feral growls against my neck and any moan he did muster up was drowned out by my very loud shrieks. I hoped to God no one was working late tonight.

The room was spinning, I was coming to a close and Gaara was, if it was even possible, fucking me harder. My fingers curled into my palms, allowing my sharp nails to dig into my flesh. "I...I can't, Gaara, _please," _I managed a coherent sentence, though it was broken with a moan. I couldn't think straight and I didn't know what I was begging for but I needed it soon, that's for sure.

Gaara's hips bucked violently with the last few angry thrusts and with a hoarse shout, lost himself inside me. I wasn't far behind when something rolled into my stomach and exploded into my own shout of pleasure. I came slowly down from my high, slowly relaxing from the hard arch I'd thrown my back into. I opened my eyes, blinking sluggishly and carefully unhooked my crossed ankles. The muscles in my legs slowly loosened and I didn't even realize Gaara had lost his bruising grip on them until they slowly fell from his waist.

He panted above me, much harder than my own little pants. The sand holding my hands down slipped away and I pulled them to my chest, eyes lazily roving over the abused flesh. There would definitely be bruises.

Just as I was starting to sit up, Gaara caught me by the hip. I blinked in confusion up at him when he rolled me over to my stomach. My legs visibly shook as I tried to stand up but Gaara pressed a firm hand to my hip. "Gaara, what are you—_OH!" _I practically screamed when he entered me from behind. Oh Christ.

Curses and moans and his name erupt out of my mouth in damn there one single breath. Just seconds ago I'd been convinced that our first round was as violent as it could get but hell was I wrong. His grip on my hips were too hard, he was slamming into me like he wanted to murder me and my hips were slamming into the desk because of his savage thrusts. I probably could have told him to stop, I probably should have at least tried to get him to slow down.

But Christ Almighty, I liked it. I liked the too tight grips and the abusive fucking. I liked the bruising kisses he laid down my back. I fuckin' liked it. "Fuck, fuck," I panted breathlessly, clutching at the desk like a lifeline. "Harder," I rasped out, knuckles turning white.

I can feel his large hands traveling up the slope of my back, fingers dipping into my hair. His fingers suddenly tighten in my hair and I yelped as he yanked hard on the strands. My head tilted to the side obediently and he continued his earlier assault on my neck, having found more space to leave those bruising kisses.

Hissing, I pushed back at him, rolling my hips at different angles. I had to guess that he liked it because his grip on my hair became even tighter and his thrusts came rapidly. Mouth pressed to my ear, his grunts and groans are almost enough to make me cum but I held on, desperate to prolong our time together.

It took me a good minute to realize he was talking to me. "...do you understand?" He growled into my ear. I only blinked languidly, confused as to what I was supposed to understand. "You're mine, understand? Mine to touch, mine to hold, mine to kiss and mine to _fuck_. Do. You. Understand?" He asked, thrusting with each word.

"God, yes. Yeees. I...I understand."

"You understand?" His strokes were slowing down. Oh, Christ, no. No, no, noooo. Don't slow down. I needed him faster. Harder. I needed him bad.

"I'm yours, Gaara! Christ, all yours!" I shrieked desperately. He came to a complete stop and I nearly lost my shit. I started to shift, grinding my hips against the desk. God, help me. I let go of the desk and dipped my hand between my legs. I needed that release and I needed it now. Unfortunately Gaara took notice of me trying to get myself off and immediately snatched my hand up. He pressed up against me, pressing my hips to the desk and pinning my hand to the desk. Oh, Goddddd why. I whimpered pathetically. Why was he doing this?

"What do you want, Xin?"

Well, that was a stupid question. Isn't it obvious? I whimpered again and wondered if I could get away with my other hand. Ah….he would probably use his sand then. Fuck. I mumbled into the desk and I felt Gaara lean in. "I can't hear you. Tell me what you want. Say it."

Not in the mood for this, I broke easily. "For shit's sake, Gaara, I want you to fuck me! I want you to fuck me hard, until I can't stand. I want you to fuckin' dominate me like we're fuckin' animals! Please, _please, _just fuck me already!"

Guess I didn't need him to tell him again. I scrambled on the desk, nails digging into the wood. The abused piece of furniture scraped loudly against the floor, groaning and creaking under our combined weight.

He kept this psychotic pace up for far too long and when my hips really started to ache, he started to slow down. I released the death grip I had on the desk, barely feeling the pain radiating from my nails. I gritted my teeth, feeling that tight feeling in my abdomen become almost painfully uncomfortable. For a moment, I was deaf to anything around me, including my shrill screech of release.

The moment I realized it was over, my face started to burn. Jesus fuckin' Christ, that was not supposed to happen. Slowly I worked my hands under me and slowly pushed myself up on the desk. My clothes were wrinkled and my underwear was just tattered remains.

Gaara had turned away and I found myself frowning at his back. Did he...regret it? Did he not want to talk about anything at all?

Well, fine! If that's how he wanted it, then it was just fine. With a huff, I launched myself off of the desk and onto unsteady legs. I stumbled loudly and grabbed at the desk for support. Blushing, I took a giant huff, determined to march my ass out of this stupid office. I took two steps away from the desk before my eyes rolled to the back of my head and I dropped like a sack of potatoes.

Wonderful.

* * *

Gaara blinked several times before slowly turning around. Hearing a dull thump, he assumed Xin had knocked something over in her haste to right herself. After all, he hadn't really left her in a dignified state. He'd pay for that later, maybe she would throw a lamp at his head. And maybe this time, she wouldn't miss.

Instead he found his wife in a heap on the floor, breathing softly. For a short moment, he panicked. Of all the things to do after having sex, dropping like a sack of potatoes? She would never live this down. Gaara crouched at her side and slowly reached for her face. Her temperature was normal and so's her breathing so he assumed she was just exhausted. Physically maybe but definitely mentally. Maybe even emotionally. Marriage will do that to you. Especially _their _marriage.

He gathered her up in his arms, carefully avoiding the blossoming bruises. Those bruises circling her wrists were going to be positively _nasty. _

_Nastynastynasty _bruises that he put there in a fit of jealous rage and Jesus Christ, how could he treat her like that? She was wrong, of course, but goddammit that's not how he was supposed to deal with this situation.

'_Should've just killed Sasori,' _

He was disturbed by that thought in particular because he didn't know if it came from him or the Shukaku. But either way, he told himself, he couldn't kill someone simply because they were attracted to his wife. Or perhaps he could. No. No. That's not how leaders worked. He was not that type of person. Anymore. He glanced down to look into Xin's face. Sometimes she brought that person out of him and he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

For instance. The sex? Good. The reason behind the sex or even the aftermath of said sex? Not good. Not good at all. His wife was unconscious after all.

The walk back to their home was silent and filled with his quiet self-loathing. He hoped his siblings were already asleep for the night because the last thing he needed was explaining what had gone on between the two of them. But the house slumbered on as he entered, no signs of life that would force him into explaining the night he's had.

Gaara easily climbed the stairs, despite her swinging limbs. If he hadn't known that Xin was a particularly heavy sleeper, he would have been worried. She hadn't moved since climbing off of the desk. He settled her in the mess of their bed (_slightly surprised that she hadn't made the bed, she was a neat freak_) and eyed her slumbering form for several minutes. Her clothes were wrinkled and still smelled kind of like sex.

Massaging his temples, he dug through their closet and yanked out one of his plain shirts. He carefully worked her out of her worn clothes, remembering at the last second that her panties were in a mangled heap on his office floor. He'd have to clean that up before anyone saw. In a matter of seconds he had her changed and ready for bed. Not that she knew but that was besides the point. He backed away from her but paused thoughtfully. He reached down to cup her face, thumb caressing her jaw. Eventually he would make this right.

Xin sighed in her sleep.

Eventually.

* * *

I swear, these two can never get it right lol.

Anyway, last update of 2016! Woo! Finally this awful year can end! I had all of my wisdom teeth removed and I've been high on drugs for like a week, which is why this update is so late. If there's a lot of spelling errors, I'm blaming the drugs. I hope you guys enjoy, read, review and have a happy new years! Please have a safe and fun celebration and we'll see you next update!


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